


bubbles!

by karone (nekrateholic)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Power Rangers Fusion, Dinosaurs, M/M, Vague High School AU, canon typical monster fighting while in magical spandex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:54:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 53,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21796414
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nekrateholic/pseuds/karone
Summary: “Congratulations, children,” Ten says solemnly. “You’re now the power rangers.”
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan, Huang Ren Jun/Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno/Liu Yang Yang/Na Jaemin, Huang Ren Jun/Na Jaemin, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Liu Yang Yang, Liu Yang Yang/Na Jaemin
Comments: 53
Kudos: 200
Collections: ’00 FIC FEST: ROUND ONE





	1. Ancient storm, power ranger pink!

**Author's Note:**

> heyo.  
> dear prompter, welcome to my baby monster. you probably didn't expect 50k of shitty power rangers references but hey, surprise? i've wanted to write power rangers au for years and this just... exploded... i'm only a little sorry. i hope you like it :3
> 
> *based mainly on dino charge, with a little bit of dino thunder and mighty morphin'  
> **serpentina does exist in the power rangers universe too but the real one is very different than the one here
> 
> (this is #0063, if anyone missed The Power Rangers Prompt)  
> (longer emo note at the end. i love you for even thinking about reading this fic.)

Somewhere deep, deep inside Jaemin knows he’s been teetering the line of pathetic. For a while now. Donghyuck certainly thinks so and he never fails to remind him of the fact.

But can you blame him? Everyone treats their entire grade as adults already, just because they’re in their last year of high school. University applications, grades, exams. _You’re an adult now, Jaemin, act like it._

But this giant crush he’s been harboring for close to two years now? Doesn’t feel like an adult thing at all. Adults are supposed to have their shit together, that’s what everyone says. If there’s one thing Jaemin is sure of, it’s that he certainly doesn’t.

*

“I don’t understand why I should be the one driving you to your stupid date.” Donghyuck grumbles as he pulls out of Jaemin’s driveway. “You have your own car. You’re not exactly tight on gas money either.”

“It’s not a date,” Jaemin says firmly, specifically choosing to answer just the first question. Besides, it’s a good explanation for the rest of Donghyuck’s questions anyway.

Donghyuck rolls his eyes but doesn't press further. It’s probably for the best.

The thing is, Jaemin isn't much of a science person. His teachers would definitely agree that he scrapes by in Chemistry and Physics is only slightly better. Why then, you’d ask, is he currently on his way to a field trip with the Astronomy club’s president then?

The answer is simple: Huang Renjun.

The object of that close-to-two-years crush? You got it. Huang Renjun. When Jaemin really thinks about it, Renjun has somehow been at the bottom of each and every questionable life choice Jaemin has made lately. Jaemin doesn’t even remember how it started at this point. It wasn’t Renjun’s face, that’s for sure. And not because he lacks - hell, Jaemin has spent enough time sneaking glances to prove that wrong but back then, Renjun was just… nobody. He was smart, sure, but somehow managed to slip through the cracks of high school hierarchy. It would've stayed like that, too. And then The Incident happened.

Jaemin isn't good enough at science to remember what the actual problem was but he remembers this: Mr Ahn, their ancient science teacher, the one no one is sure why hasn't retired yet, teaching something no one is paying attention to. Huang Renjun, who is apparently that _no one,_ speaking up, saying the fateful words: _That is not right._

Mr Ahn, being the arrogant asshole he is, challenged Renjun’s opinion instead of just shutting him down (and failing him, although that was in the stars too, knowing the old asshole). Lo and behold, Renjun’s argumentation was so good even Mr Ahn couldn’t disprove it. Jaemin only has other people to vouch for that - he didn’t get the wrong thing, sure, but he didn’t get the right one either. How he passed that class is still a miracle. 

Mr Ahn still tried to fail Renjun, of course. His reasons were petty and frankly stupid, which Renjun took to the school board, which in turn resulted in Mr Ahn retiring without much fanfare.

Things only spiraled from there. Renjun gained the respect of the entire student body, became the new president of the science club once the old one graduated and gained a steady number of fangirls glancing at him in the hallways. It didn’t seem to bother him, though. In fact, nothing seemed to bother him _at all._

Jaemin was in awe.

Which leads to the problem at hand: Donghyuck grumbling all the way to the edge of the forest where Jaemin is supposed to meet with Renjun.

*

But back to Jaemin’s Renjun Issue: over the past almost-two years, he went from fascination with Renjun’s face to fascination with his general existence, then joining the Astronomy club partly as a joke, and then, finally, admitting it’s not a joke at all. Huang Renjun in his element is a sight to behold. Jaemin will be the first one to admit he still very much sucks at science and about 80% of what the Astronomy club talks about just flies over his head. Still, watching Renjun excited about what he loves is great, which, in the end, is the exact reason Jaemin is here, in Donghyuck’s beat, old car, being driven to the forest at 6 A.M. on a Sunday.

“So whipped,” Donghyuck mutters as they pull into the small parking lot at the edge of the woods. 

Jaemin rolls his eyes. “Like you’re one to talk. Don’t think I don’t see you smiling like an idiot at a certain someone in the hallways.”

Donghyuck heaves a sigh, dropping his head on the steering wheel. It’s a miracle the horn isn’t blaring at the moment. “Shut up,” he says, still not looking at Jaemin. “Jeno is very sweet and unlike some people, he enjoys my company.”

“You mean,” Jaemin corrects, not even trying to hide his grin, “he has a crush on you the size of Jupiter?”

“Shut up,” Donghyuck repeats. Another sigh. “I doubt anyone can surpass just how whipped you are for Renjun.”

There’s something in the way he says it, something that isn’t there when he makes fun of Jaemin usually. It takes a moment for Jaemin that he can’t quite place the flash of emotion, despite all the years they’ve been friends.

He blames it on the hour. It’s a little after six in the morning now and both of them haven’t slept a lot. The sun is already peeking over the horizon and Jaemin shudders when the morning chill reaches his bare arms. Good thing he let Donghyuck bully him into bringing a hoodie, just in case.

It used to be livelier out here, back when Jaemin was a kid. There were more people in town, too. Outdoors enthusiasts actually going to the woods, using the trails, even a little shop set up right at the edge. It provided snacks as well as a small variety of trinkets for the odd tourist to enjoy.

This was all in the past, though. Now there’s only an empty wooden shack Jaemin passes by as he gets off Donghyuck’s car and heads for the lone figure at the edge of the parking lot. He doesn’t bother replying to Donghyuck’s jab but he does wave him goodbye, to which he only gets an eyeroll. Kids these days.

“You actually showed up,” Renjun says in lieu of a hello, when Jaemin is within earshot.

He’ll never understand how Renjun is still surprised. Jaemin has been consistently agreeing to pretty much anything Renjun wants for most of his existence as an Astronomy club member.

“Hello to you too,” Jaemin beams when he finally reaches Renjun. “I did say I’ll show up, didn’t I? Can’t let you explore all the cool stuff all alone.”

Renjun rolls his eyes. Why is everyone rolling their eyes at Jaemin today? “I always wonder how you haven’t quit yet, honestly. Do you even know what we’re doing today?”

“Sure,” Jaemin shrugs, even though he doesn’t, not really. “We’re pretending to be doing serious club work while you indulge in your aliens obsession.”

The perks of generally going with Huang Renjun’s every whim: Jaemin now has a good idea of how he ticks. One of the things he learned first? Renjun believes in aliens. Loves aliens, even. He doesn’t let that particular bit about himself show a lot but it’s kind of obvious if you know to look for it. He has argued, in scientific terms Jaemin couldn’t quite understand, about the probability of extraterrestrial life out there before. 

The official reason for their early trip is that supposedly, there’s a place somewhere in the woods where you can see the stars clearly for a few minutes longer, even after the sun rises. There have also been an increasing number of starshowers in the general vicinity of the woods. Of course, Renjun finds it fascinating.

The real reason: Jaemin follows a few local alien conspiracy blogs. He knows they’ve been talking about the starshowers.

Renjun rolls his eyes but doesn’t even try to argue. 

Another perk of generally going with Huang Renjun’s every whim: casual friendship.

At this point, Jaemin is willing to take whatever he can get.

*

“Is there a specific reason we’re doing this at the crack of dawn instead of, I don’t know, at night?” Jaemin huffs out after what feels like years of following Renjun down the stupid hiking trail. He suspects the sun might be fully up at this point except the trees are quite dense this deep into the woods and the light streaming through the branches isn’t a lot more than it was at the parking lot.

Renjun stops for a second, just to stare at him, judgement written all over his features. “I thought you knew we’re going to see the clearing. With the stars.”

“The sun is up already,” Jaemin points out. “By the time we reach the clearing even the extra few minutes will have passed.”

It’s like Jaemin never opened his mouth. “And anyway, the starshowers seem interesting, I’d love to check them out. Early morning is a more acceptable time than the middle of the night, especially if your parents are on the stricter side.” Renjun turns back to give Jaemin a look. “Even though you’re the only one that actually showed up. I don’t know what I expected.”

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that last part,” Jaemin says cheerily. The words sting more than he’d allow to show. “I was right, though. You’re only here to indulge in your aliens obsession. You were perfectly aware I’d be the only willing victim when you proposed the hour.”

He’s not actually sure of that last part but Renjun doesn’t deny it, so he allows himself a sliver of hope. 

They should be nearing the clearing at this point. Jaemin feels a surge of adrenaline at the thought. It proves useful when he has to push yet another branch out of his way.

The closer they get to where they should be, though, the sounds of… something, get louder. There are the sharp noises of branches being snapped at first, then the unmistakable _thump!_ of something being thrown against something else the closer they get. It sounds suspiciously a lot like… a fight?

“Hey,” Jaemin whispers, clutching Renjun’s sleeve in a valiant attempt to get him to slow down. “This is kinda weird, don’t you think? Maybe we should come back another day?”

Renjun’s eyes are sparkling when he locks them on Jaemin’s face. “Are you scared, Jaeminnie?”

Jaemin isn’t sure if the shiver running down his spine is rooted in fear or… his own name in Renjun’s voice. He sucks in a breath, desperately trying to steady his heartbeat. The sounds of whatever is happening are getting louder still, the distant sound of voices added to the mix now. _Yeah,_ Jaemin thinks absently. _Definitely fear._

Renjun seems to have some sense of self preservation at least, because when the noise gets uncomfortably close he ducks behind a cluster of bushes, dragging Jaemin down with him. They’re dense enough to conceal them hopefully but if Jaemin tries really hard, he can make out the shapes of the figures fighting in the clearing.

There’s an _Oh, fuck,_ is at the tip of Jaemin’s tongue. It’s only stopped by Renjun’s hand on his mouth and the scathing glare aimed his way.

One of the people fighting is a man, not very tall but lean and strong as hell, judging by the way he flings himself off a tree and charges at his opponent.

The opponent… doesn’t seem very human, to be put simply. Jaemin rubs at his eyes once, twice, three times but the sight of the scaled creature in the clearing doesn’t dissipate. It looks like some weird amalgamation between a snake and a dragon. Its tail ends in an array of spikes which are currently flung at the man fighting it, like a particularly ugly, animated mace.

Strong as he is, it doesn’t look like the man is winning.

“We should help him,” Jaemin blurts out, surprising both of them. He doesn’t want to, really doesn’t, except he wants to witness this stranger getting smashed to bloody pieces by an anime monster came to life even less. 

Somewhere through the fear, there’s a voice inside his head screaming for him to fight, _to protect._ By the look on his face, a similar voice is screaming in Renjun’s head, too.

“Weren’t you suggesting we should head back ten seconds ago?” Renjun grits, eyes glued to the fight.

Jaemin closes his eyes, tries to imagine doing just that. It would be… not easy, maybe, but possible. The voice gets louder.

“We can’t just leave him,” he mutters. His eyes are on the fight as well, which is why he misses Renjun’s surprised glance. “We have to help him.”

“Yeah,” Renjun finally agrees. “We have to be smart about this though. I’m not keen on becoming the human version of mashed potatoes.”

Jaemin blinks, momentarily distracted from the fear. He stares at Renjun, incredulous. “Ew. Thanks for ruining mashed potatoes for me.”

Renjun’s answering smile is downright satisfied and not for the first time, Jaemin wonders if he’s crushing on a psychopath. Probably. Who cares?

“Anyway,” Renjun says, focused on the fight again. The man is struggling to keep up more and more with each moment passed. “Look at his hands. He’s protecting something. The reptile thing seems to want it.”

Now that Renjun mentions it, Jaemin doesn’t know how he didn’t notice earlier. While the thing is definitely in attack mode, the man seems more on the defensive side. When he does counter attack it’s mostly using his feet and he seems to favor his right hand. Which is clutching something.

“Oh,” Jaemin breathes. “We have to distract the thing.”

Renjun nods. “Yeah. I was thinking I could circle the clearing to the other side and distract it so you can take whatever that person is protecting. Maybe if he doesn’t need to worry about keeping whatever it is safe, he’ll have a better chance.”

“And if he doesn’t we’re all doomed.” Jaemin points out.

Renjun glances at him, expression unreadable. “I’d understand if you wanted to go home. You don’t have to do this. It’s not our fight.”

The voice in Jaemin’s head disagrees but he’s not about to mention it. In fact, “I’m actually kind of worried about you playing prey. Can’t I do it?”

Renjun opens his mouth to reply, then pauses. “No, I’m smaller and I’ll sneak around easier. I’m only worried the person won’t trust us enough to give you the thing he’s protecting.”

“Well,” Jaemin shrugs. “He’s fighting a spiky snake-dragon right now and we’re decidedly not scaly. I doubt he’d have much of a choice.”

There’s a quiet snort in lieu of an answer and Jaemin allows himself a moment to enjoy making Renjun laughs. He thinks about his mom, about Hyuck’s stupid face this morning. He wishes he’d said bye out loud, at least. He really, really hopes the plan works.

“Okay,” Renjun says. “Game on.”

*

Jaemin figures he should be more scared than he is but as he watches Renjun lug a rather big rock at the snake-dragon, all he feels is calm. The monster - he really has to come to terms with the fact that this is, in fact, a monster - whips around, tail and all and a dozen spikes are suddenly flying in Renjun’s direction.

Now Jaemin is afraid but there’s no time for it anymore. He sprints to the person, praying Renjun somehow escaped the spikes. 

“I can keep your thing,” he says without much preamble. The man opens his mouth to say something but Jaemin soldiers on. “You can’t fight and keep it safe and this thing seems to be getting the better of you already.”

“Not another pest,” the snake-dragon hisses and suddenly, Jaemin feels the coldness of its stare on him. He forces himself not to look at it and a moment later, there’s another _thump!_ The monster hisses again and briefly, Jaemin wonders where the fuck does Renjun find all these stones. He hopes they won’t run out.

The man opens his mouth again, then closes it. “Fucking kids.”

His voice is high pitched and annoyed and for some reason, this comes as a surprise. Jaemin doesn’t have time to dwell on it, though, because the next thing he knows there’s a pouch being pushed into his hands and the man is hissing for him to _run, goddamn it!_

Jaemin doesn’t have to be told twice.

He runs right back to the bushes he and Renjun hid in, fully intending to get as far away as possible so the annoyed dude can do his thing in peace. Of course, his plans are ruined almost right away.

There’s commotion, more hissing from the monster which Jaemin doesn’t even try to decipher.

Renjun, screeching “Jaemin, duck!” from the other side of the clearing. Jaemin drops flat on the ground without a second thought and just as well, because two seconds later an array of spikes hits the tree right in front of him.

The pouch rolls away from his hand at the impact, the strings coming loose in the process. There’s something shiny in it, glowing, and suddenly the voice in Jaemin’s head is loud, unbearable, _screaming._ He needs to touch whatever is in that pouch, to hold it in his hand, to bond.

Jaemin does just that. The last thing he hears before his fingers wrap around the sharp edges of the object is the stranger’s scream of _Oh my god, don’t-_

And then everything goes white.

*

It’s not much of an explosion, if Jaemin is being honest. Sure, the snake-dragon flies back and so does the stranger but Jaemin feels _fine._ He can see Renjun on the other side of the clearing staring at him, wide-eyed.

The voice in his head is a lot calmer now, content. There’s no trace of the fear either.

When he looks down, spreading his fingers apart, there’s a stone in his hand. A gem, really. It has a vague cylindrical shape, sharp edges cutting into his palm. It’s light pink and glowing softly and the more Jaemin looks at it, the calmer he feels about the whole situation. He clutches the pouch in his other hand and turns to fully face the clearing again. Somehow, running away is no longer an option.

“You stupid little pest,” the monster hisses. “That was my gem. Give me the other one or you’ll regret it.”

There’s something like electricity running through Jaemin’s body, lighting his nerves on fire. It feels amazing. “Are you sure about that?” He asks, advancing against the monster slowly. The ground shakes beneath his feet but it’s nice, reassuring. The electricity in his body grows in intensity, until he feels like he’s made of it. Jaemin closes his eyes, just bathes in the feeling for a moment. When he opens them again, focusing all that energy at the snake-dragon feels as easy as breathing.

It’s blown away again, hits a tree slightly further than the first one but Jaemin can already see it straightening up, ready to charge again.

There’s a resigned sigh of something like _Oh, what the hell,_ somewhere behind him. The stranger is next to him a moment later, clutching at his wrist. Jaemin didn’t even sense him move. “Give me the pouch,” he orders. When Jaemin takes a beat too long to respond, he huffs out a, “Quick!”

As soon as Jaemin pushes the pouch into his hand, the man is off towards where Renjun is still standing, frozen. But the snake-dragon is still around, and Jaemin has no time to waste.

He tries to summon another energy explosion but the voice in his head is quiet all of a sudden. He clutches the gem in his hand but all it gives him is a weak, little spark. The monster seems to sense his trouble because there’s a slow, ugly grin stretching its already unpleasant features. Its tail swishes around, spikes glinting in the sunlight.

“Where’s your stolen power now, pesky little human?” The monster laughs and Jaemin finds its laugh is just as ugly as the rest of it.

 _This is it,_ he thinks _I’ve had a good life._ He’s thinking of his mom again, then his dad. He hopes the angry man will save Renjun somehow. It’s a fitting way to go, Jaemin thinks distantly. Getting turned into human mashed potatoes while pining after Renjun.

The snake-dragon swings its tail and, for the second time today, everything goes white.

*

When the world comes back into focus Jaemin finds Renjun standing in the clearing fully, facing the snake-dragon. The monster seems to be recovering still but as soon as it does, its tail swishes violently, bringing down three whole trees behind it.

“Fools,” it hisses looking between Renjun and Jaemin, then at the man standing a few steps behind them, just at the edge of the forest. It gears up for another attack, this time at Renjun, and Jaemin has about half a second to be horrified before Renjun takes a step forward. He seems confused at first before a slow, pleased smile blooms on his face. 

“Please, do attack again,” he says, smile growing wider as the monster halts, then shrinks back. “I’d love to test out these new powers.”

A chilling roar rumbles through the ground, followed by something that sounds a lot like snapping of teeth. At first, Jaemin is convinced it’s the monster making the sound but no. The monster is taking a step back, then another. There’s a faint red glow wrapping itself around Renjun’s frame and Jaemin blinks, looking down at his own hand. It’s glowing too, only his is pink. Oh.

“You’re going to regret this, you filthy excuse of a ranger,” The snake-dragon growls, eyes glued to the stranger. “Your friend failed before you, you’ll fail as well. My only regret is that I won’t be here to witness it.”

Then the monster raises its hand, as if tugging at an invisible rope, and just like that, it’s gone.

It feels a little like a sandcastle falling away when the child is done playing with it. The clearing is suddenly very, very quiet. Jaemin glances at Renjun, who in turn is looking back at the man who started this mess.

“Stop looking at me like that,” he says, voice laced with exasperation. “You both could’ve easily avoided this mess if you’d just minded your fucking business.”

Jaemin has spent enough time observing Renjun to recognize the almost imperceptible tremor to Renjun’s hands, the icy look in his eyes. Once you’ve seen it, it’s hard not to see it as the vicious anger it is.

“If we’d minded our fucking business,” he grits, stressing every word, “you would’ve gotten your ass whooped by an especially ugly lizard.”

“I’m gonna have to agree,” Jaemin adds, dry autumn leaves crunching under his boots as he goes to stand next to Renjun.

The stranger stares at them for a few long moments, then sighs. “I guess there’s some explaining to do, isn’t it?”

Renjun raises an eyebrow. “You think?”

“Shut up,” the man huffs. “I’m shit at the explanation stuff, I’m gonna have to take you to...” He pauses, gives them each a resigned look. “Is there any chance you’d give me the stones and just forget this whole thing happened?”

The voice in Jaemin’s head screams in protest. 

“No way in hell,” he says out loud. The harshness of his own voice surprises him and, by the looks of it, Renjun too. Even if he nods.

“Fucking fine, I’ll take you to him.” With yet another sigh, the man sets off deeper into the woods, not even bothering to check if Jaemin and Renjun are following. Then again, he didn’t seem all that excited to help them - maybe losing them would just be a nice bonus. 

“By the way,” he says, still not turning around though he does slow down a bit. “My name is Ten.”

*

“You gave the gems to a bunch of _teenagers?”_ A voice screeches. Jaemin does his best not to flinch. “You let them bond to a pair of kids?!”

Jaemin opens his mouth to argue because they’re in their last year of high school, they’re pretty much adults already. It’s what everyone has been trying to drill into his brain. Renjun grips his wrist in warning, though, so Jaemin clamps his mouth shut.

“They had attitude?” Ten’s voice says, significantly calmer, even if the words are laced with guilt.

They’re waiting in front of something that looks suspiciously a lot like a fancy cave and as the argument inside grows louder, Jaemin tunes out the commotion. Renjun’s fingers around his wrist ground him, and he wonders what it says about him: even now, the effects of Renjun’s proximity are as strong as ever.

On the way here, Ten had steadfastly refused to answer any question whatsoever, including whether Ten is his actual name. Instead he led them to another clearing further in the woods, took their hands, told them to close their eyes and next thing Jaemin knew, they were somewhere else entirely, the woods were nowhere to be seen. 

He takes a look around again. The scenery is easier to take in now that he’s had some time to adjust to it. There are a few large hills littered around the horizon, some of them having quite the odd shapes. Like large, mossy animals in the distance. Jaemin is absolutely sure this place doesn't exist anywhere near his hometown but next to the snake-dragon thing, teleportation, or whatever Ten did to get them here, seems like a weird thing to question.

It occurs to him they can’t really get home from here. Jaemin is fairly sure he can find his way through the woods and back to the tiny parking lot but they’re not in the woods anymore. He has no idea where they are and by the worried glances Renjun gives the cave, Jaemin, the hills - he doesn’t know either.

Finally, Ten emerges from the cave with another man in tow. The first thing Jaemin notices is his hair - it’s black, or should be, because halfway through his hair color switches to the most obnoxious white-blonde Jaemin has ever seen. He’s dressed in something vaguely like a military uniform with an even more obnoxiously red shirt underneath. His fringe falls into his eyes and the rest of his hair is distressed, like he makes a habit of running his hands through it. And the most obnoxious thing of it all? Somehow he pulls it off.

The man seems to be about Ten’s age, except there’s something in his eyes that makes him look a lot older than his features do. Jaemin wonders what he’s seen.

He rubs at his eyes, then sighs. “Hi. Sorry you had to witness this. Back then,” he makes a vague gesture at the cave, “and now. My name is Taeyong. You’ve already met Ten. I suppose you have questions?”

“Oh, yes,” Renjun says evenly, eyes narrowed. “They can probably be summed up in just one, though: _what the fuck?”_

Everyone falls silent. Jaemin can’t help but stare at Renjun in awe. The whole situation must be just as distressing for him as it is for Jaemin. He was too busy being in his own head to notice. Renjun had been so cool out in that clearing but he does great under stress - and what’s more stressful than having your life threatened by a giant, murderous lizard?

The silence is broken by a quiet laugh. Jaemin blinks against the two men. Taeyong is very pretty when he laughs. It’s a little unfair.

“They do have attitude, I’ll give you that,” he tells Ten. He beckons everyone to follow him, leading them to something like a stone picnic table on the left, partly hidden by cave’s entrance. “We have quite a bit of explaining to do, it seems.”

*

Jaemin blinks against the sudden onslaught of information. There are gems bound to dinosaur spirits which bonded to them. And somehow he’s bonded to a triceratops now? Chosen by one, Taeyong never fails to correct with each question. Jaemin squeezes the gem in his pocket. Maybe it’s his imagination but it seems to grow warmer, somehow. The voice in his head hums in content.

The voice which apparently belongs to said triceratops. Renjun was the one who asked about the voices - apparently his ancient spirit is a tyrannosaurus rex, which honestly sounds a lot cooler. It’s nice to know Jaemin isn’t going crazy, at least.

“So we’re bonded to ancient spirits. Right?” Taeyong nods and Ten huffs but Jaemin chooses to ignore the second one. “Okay. What now? And where the hell are we?”

Renjun nods, eyes determined, and Jaemin allows himself a moment to bask in the knowledge that he got the Huang Renjun approval.

“I’ll start with the easier question,” Taeyong says eventually. “We’re on an island floating above ground. It’s shrouded by ancient powers which is why it’s invisible to the regular human. It won’t be invisible for you now, though.” 

Jaemin is glad to notice the dumb look he’s sporting is mirrored on Renjun’s face.

“This leads me to the second question,” Taeyong continues. Ten looks suspiciously gleeful. “You’ve bonded to two of the great dinosaur spirits. Which are, coincidentally, pink and red.”

“Allow me, please,” Ten interrupts, to Taeyong’s obvious annoyance. He lets him go on, though. Unfortunately.

“Congratulations, children,” Ten says solemnly. “You’re now the power rangers.”

*

Renjun is the first one to break the dramatic silence. “Okay seriously,” he huffs, standing up. “Is this some kind of an elaborate joke? Power rangers? Seriously?”

Ten raises an eyebrow. “You fight a giant space lizard without trouble, accept the floating island and the dinosaur ghost probably speaking into your brain but _power rangers_ is where you draw the line?”

Jaemin fully expects Renjun to retort something because he _will,_ except Taeyong’s expression has suddenly gone very, very white and Ten looks like someone just threw a glass of regret in his face.

“You let them fight Serpentina?” Taeyong says, slow, stressing each word. “You told me they accidentally bonded to the stones while you were fighting Serpentina. _You let them fight Serpentina?”_

Ten slowly angles away from him and, honestly, Jaemin wants to follow. Taeyong had seemed pretty sweet so far but this look in his eyes? Terrifying.

“In his defence,” Jaemin starts against his better judgement, “we were the ones who initiated it?”

“We couldn’t just let someone get beaten like that,” Renjun shrugs. “Because he was definitely about to get beaten.”

Jaemin is glad to not endure Taeyong’s deadly eyes alone, honestly. Even if it’s now doubled because wow, Ten is definitely glaring.

Taeyong watches them some more, then rubs at his temples. “I guess the stones wouldn’t have bonded to just anyone. There’s a reason the t-rex chose him, I guess.” The last bit seems addressed to Ten, even if Taeyong is looking at Renjun.

“Yeah,” Ten nods. He’s still glaring, mostly at Renjun. “I was definitely not going to get beaten, you little shit.”

“Nevermind that,” Taeyong sighs, waving him off. “You two need morphers. And training. God, there’s so much work to do.”

“Wait,” Renjun interrupts, somewhat sheepish. Jaemin glances at him curiously. “What if we… don’t want to? Do this whole thing I mean. What if we don’t want to be superheroes?”

Taeyong looks like he’s about to say something but in the end, no words come out. Ten gives him a gentle pat on the shoulder, expression serious. It’s a lot different than what Jaemin has seen of him so far, and it… feels important.

“You can say no,” he starts. Jaemin doesn’t miss the way Taeyong’s hands clench into fists. “But the gems will still be bonded to you. They chose you for a reason. We’re not able to morph and here and the likes of Serpentina won’t give up on stealing the gems just because they’re bonded now. We can only protect you so much.”

“Knowing Serpentina,” Taeyong adds, “she won’t stop searching for the rest of them either. Yours are not the only gems out there. She won’t hesitate to hurt innocent people if it’ll help her find them.”

“So we don’t have a choice.” Jaemin says quietly.

Taeyong’s smile is small, apologetic. “You do. But then again, you don’t.”

Renjun considers them for a moment, expression unreadable. “What would’ve happened if we weren’t in the woods today? If we hadn’t bonded?”

“Assuming Ten managed to protect them from Serpentina,” Taeyong mutters, ignoring Ten’s indignant squawk, “we would’ve brought them here anyway and hoped at least one of them bonds with us.”

It’s quiet for a moment. Jaemin decides someone has to address the elephant in the room. “And if they didn’t?”

Taeyong heaves a sigh. “I don’t know. I really don’t.”

He looks so tired already. Jaemin itches to maybe try and comfort him? But then again, he met these people only hours ago. Even with the special circumstances, it feels like a level of intimacy he’s very, very far from. 

The budding headache tells him he needs at least three coffees for the world to feel right again and it’s not even lunchtime yet.

*

They’re transported back to the ground shortly after. Jaemin had fully expected to have to leave the gems with Taeyong for the morphers to be developed but he’d only shook his head. When Ten had taken the gems away to be scanned so Taeyong has something to work with, even that level of distance made the voice in Jaemin’s head grow restless, uneasy. Jaemin found himself sharing the feeling, and with Renjun’s incessantly tapping foot, he wasn’t the only one. Taeyong had provided them with thin metal necklaces, each with a small pouch instead of a pendant. The gems were to go in there because they couldn’t carry them clutched in their hands forever and Taeyong had almost had an aneurysm at the prospect of a simple pocket. The gems would be the thing that alerts them that the morphers are ready.

Who knew, morphers don’t magically appear once you acquire the special object. Jaemin feels a little betrayed.

As Ten leads them out of the forest, Jaemin nudges Renjun. “So how do you feel now that you’re a superhero?”

“Like shit,” Renjun says, deadpan. Ten doesn’t pause but he does slow down.

Jaemin shuffles closer, voice lower. For all the storm in his eyes, Renjun doesn’t move away and Jaemin counts it as a win. “It was such a wild day. You were really cool back in that clearing, though.” 

Renjun chuckles, low. It doesn’t sound all that amused. “I was scared out of my mind. But you were cool too, I guess. The explosions were very impressive.”

“Maybe,” Jaemin sighs. It did feel cool at the time but now that he thinks about it, about all the things that followed he’s just… exhausted. “I was scared too,” he admits quietly. “So scared.”

They stay quiet for a while, only their steps echoing among the trees. Eventually, Renjun tugs on his sleeve. “Hey, what are you doing after this? I kind of don’t want to be alone right away.”

A part of Jaemin flutters happily. Huang Renjun? Asking go hang out? But it seems like a lot of effort went into getting the words out. Their lives are about to change dramatically and this feels so much bigger than Jaemin’s stupid feelings.

“Nothing,” Jaemin says, slapping his best smile on. “We can go get ice cream, though. I know a place. Or lunch, if you’re up for it. I don’t think I can handle solid food at the moment, though.”

Renjun gives a tentative smile back and for a second, the gloomy woods feel a tad less depressing. “Sure, ice cream sounds great.”

“Great,” Jaemin mumbles. It should’ve been great, really. Renjun spending time with him. Voluntarily.

Then why does he feel like he woke up and suddenly the entire world is upside down?

*

Turns out, Renjun was also driven here, except by his mom. Who is now at work. For once in his life, Jaemin is starting to regret not listening to Donghyuck. If he’d come with his own car, they wouldn’t be in this predicament right now.

“We can walk back to town?” Renjun suggests, eyeing the eerily empty parking lot. “It’ll probably be like… two hours, tops?”

The thin chain around Renjun’s neck moves when he speaks and Jaemin feels inexplicably drawn to the movement. “I’m really not feeling up to walking two hours,” he says eventually.

Renjun scoffs. “Got any better ideas then?”

“Actually, yes.” Jaemin beams. It’s just that… Donghyuck really won’t enjoy it.

*

As expected, Donghyuck looks positively murderous when he pulls up on the parking lot. He honks like his life depends on it, even though he can see them walking up.

As soon as Jaemin opens the passenger door, Donghyuck is already speaking. “If you’d listened to me for once in your goddamn life-”

“Shut up,” Jaemin mumbles. It’s one thing to have this conversation alone, when he can retort as much as he wants but with Renjun climbing in the backseat… it makes him uneasy.

Donghyuck’s eyes soften for a fraction of a second. He sighs, then turns back to Renjun, a smile plastered on his face. “Hey Renjun. How did your thing go?”

“Uh,” is Renjun’s eloquent reply. He glances at Jaemin. “Could be worse, I think. It didn’t go quite as I expected but… yeah it could’ve been worse.”

It seems Donghyuck is waiting for an elaboration but it never comes. Both Jaemin and Renjun stay quiet, unwilling to try and tell the story. They didn’t think to come up with a story yet and the truth is simply out of the question. 

Donghyuck turns back in his seat, pulling off the parking lot. “That doesn’t sound too bad,” he smiles. Jaemin can see him from the passenger seat - it doesn’t reach his eyes.

The remainder of the drive back to town is silent.

*

They take a table by the window and Donghyuck excuses himself, something about chores at home. In normal circumstances, it would strike Jaemin as odd; Donghyuck’s mom is working for the majority of the week, which is when the chores become his duty. Weekends, however, are free because his mom is mostly home and tries to use that time to make up for the rest of the time. Really, because Donghyuck’s mom is a saint.

But those are all things Jaemin - normal, carefree Jaemin - the Jaemin from before would notice. As it is, his brain is filled to the brim with space monsters and heroes, the ice cream in front of him and Renjun.

He takes a sip of his iced coffee, takes a look around. The ice cream parlor is starting to prepare for the winter, it seems. The variety of ice cream flavors isn’t as great as it was and the pastries start showing up more and more. It’s fascinating how the whole place will shift depending on the season. Ice cream parlor in the summer, coffeeshop in the winter. Something in between most of the time.

“This is a very nice place,” Renjun says eventually, pushing the frozen fruit his ice cream was topped off with around. “I don’t know why I’ve never been here before.”

“It’s a little odd,” Jaemin shrugs. “I wouldn’t have come here myself but I live close by. I ended up frequenting and the owner kind of adopted me, so.”

As if on cue, Taeil emerges from the back, zeroing in on Jaemin’s table immediately. A moment later, a small plate with cookies lands on their table. 

“Hey, Jaeminie,” Taeil beams, wiping his hands on his apron even though it doesn’t look like he needs it at all. “Where’s your other half?”

“Uh.” Jaemin frowns. He glances at Renjun, who’s looking at him curiously. “He was here for a bit but went home? Said something about chores. This is Renjun, by the way.”

“Ah, so rude of me,” Taeil laughs, turning to Renjun fully. “Nice to meet you, Renjun. I’m glad to see Jaemin has more than one friend.”

“Hey,” Jaemin protests but Taeil just laughs some more before he finally leaves them be.

Renjun raises an eyebrow.

Jaemin heaves a long-suffering sigh. “Okay, I might have frequented the place with Donghyuck the most. In fact, I’m pretty sure Taeil likes me only because I’m friends with Donghyuck”

Renjun maintains the eyebrow for a few more, excruciating seconds before his expression melts into a teasing smile. “He seems like a nice guy. Are you sure we didn’t drive Donghyuck away, then? I wouldn’t wanna impose on your spaces.”

“Nonsense,” Jaemin waves a hand. Donghyuck wouldn’t be that petty. Probably. “You’re perfectly fine, Donghyuck just had things to do.” Or left him alone with Renjun on purpose. Also a possibility, even if he doesn’t exactly support Jaemin’s obsession with Renjun. “And hey, we can… talk more freely now?”

“Honestly, I don’t really want to talk about… today. Not right now.” Renjun sighs, reaching for a cookie. They’re the special chocolate ones which Donghyuck loves and for a moment, Jaemin wishes he was the one picking up a cookie instead.

He forces his eyes away from the cookies, back at Renjun. “Fair enough. I don’t really wanna talk about today either.”

“Well then,” Renjun grins. “It’s settled. If we’re going to be partners in this thing we’re not speaking about, it would probably be a good idea to actually get to know each other first. So tell me about yourself, Jaemin.”

Power rangers. It took magical gemstones, a giant lizard and a floating island for Renjun to say that sentence.

But ah well. Jaemin is not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

*

Weirdly enough, things get back to normal after that. 

Well. As normal as things can be when you have a magical dinosaur voice whispering in your brain every once in a while. 

Jaemin has no idea how long it’ll take Taeyong to make the morphers, whatever that means, but by the third day after the unfortunate incident, he only has the little pouch around his neck to remind him of… whatever happened. That, and the fact that possibly, maybe he and Renjun are friends now?

He actually smiles back when Jaemin waves hello in the halls and they talk, and for two of the three days Renjun joined him for lunch at the cafeteria.

It’s perfect.

Donghyuck, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to appreciate it that much.

“You’re bailing on me again,” Jaemin pouts on day four as he trails after Donghyuck in the cafeteria. Unlike Renjun, Donghyuck almost seems like he’s trying to avoid spending more time together. This will be the second day they spend lunch apart and that’s something that hasn't happened since freshman year.

Jaemin does his best not to bump his tray into too many obstacles in his quest but it’s _hard._ Donghyuck deliberately weaves through tables pushed so close together Jaemin is convinced people are not actually _supposed_ to pass through.

“I’m not bailing,” Donghyuck insists even though that’s exactly what he’s doing. “I’m just giving you and your boyfriend some alone time.”

Jaemin pouts. It’s lost on Donghyuck because he still has his back to him but it feels right nonetheless. “He’s not my boyfriend. And just because we hang out doesn’t mean I want you gone.” 

At least most of the time. But that’s not a fact Jaemin is willing to admit, especially with Donghyuck’s increasing absence. It would only add fuel to the fire.

Lee Jeno waves at them from a table a little to the left, all smiles and crinkly eyes. It’s adorable and Jaemin is confused as hell before he realizes it’s not _them_ he’s waving at. It’s just Donghyuck.

From here, Jaemin can see Renjun looking at them curiously from across the cafeteria. Lee Jeno is no longer waving but his smile is just as blinding and for a brief moment, Jaemin wonders how the hell he missed that.

“Oh my god,” he breathes, reaching to clutch at Donghyuck’s sleeve, effectively stopping his progress to Jeno’s table. “You’re ditching me for _your_ boyfriend.”

Donghyuck sighs, long and resigned. “He’s not my boyfriend. But he could be very soon. What are you gonna do about it?”

Jaemin blinks, stunned for a whole second. Finally, he circles Donghyuck to at least see part of his face. Talking to his back is getting a little weird. “What am I supposed to do? I’m really happy for you man! Jeno seems like a good kid. That doesn’t mean I won’t do some very mean things to him if he hurts you, though.”

“I’ll make sure to tell him.” The smallest smile graces Donghyuck’s lips and relief floods through Jaemin’s insides like a warm cup of coffee. “Now go, your not-boyfriend is waiting for you. We can hang out after school or something.”

“Absolutely,” Jaemin exclaims. It feels… strange somehow. Not having Donghyuck around all day every day. Donghyuck almost having a boyfriend. Jaemin’s _thing_ with Renjun. It seems it’s a year of change for everyone.

Donghyuck nudges him away, still smiling. “Go. See you after school?”

Jaemin couldn’t stifle the stupid smile even if he tried. “Yeah! I’ll wait for you at the big tree by the entrance?” And then, softer, because it might very well burn his throat if he doesn’t say it. “I’m so glad you’re not mad at me, Hyuckie.” 

Donghyuck’s smile dims a little. He shrugs, back to not holding eye contact. “Of course I’m not mad, why would I be? Go, really. Renjun seems kinda worried.”

“Okay,” Jaemin concedes, partly because lunch hour is steadily ticking away and he has yet to touch his food. And, of course, Renjun. “After school. Don’t forget!”

Donghyuck rolls his eyes, mutters something too quiet to hear. Jaemin thinks he hears the words _not the one to-_

But Donghyuck is walking away already and Jaemin doesn’t feel like chasing him for the second time today.

He heads to Renjun, still sneaking glances back at Donghyuck and Jeno. Donghyuck is smiling again, brighter, and Jeno is too and it’s kind of disgustingly adorable. Jaemin hopes that they do end up boyfriends and that the persistent, uncomfortable feeling in his gut is just a byproduct of… the change. His triceratops hasn’t really been active since they got off the island but right now, as he watches the carefully controlled curiosity in Renjun’s eyes, Jaemin can feel waves of something that feels a lot like comfort.

*

The day goes rather unremarkable after that. Jaemin is excited to spend the afternoon with Donghyuck and tells Renjun as much while they head out of Physics, coincidentally the last class for the day. It’s not like they’ve spent that much time apart in the past few days but even so, it’s a lot less than Jaemin’s usual dose of Donghyuck. He misses him.

Donghyuck’s class is supposed to have just finished English but Jaemin knows Mr Jung likes to keep them a few extra minutes just to be petty. Especially if they’re being more annoying than usual which Donghyuck’s class usually is.

Renjun judges Jaemin once they’re officially done, just outside of the school gates. “Do you want me to keep you company while you wait for him?”

“That would be nice,” Jaemin shrugs. It’s probably not the best idea considering Donghyuck still gives him that squinty eyed look each time he’s with Renjun but hey, more Renjun time right?

Eventually, the first people Jaemin recognizes as Donghyuck’s classmates start trickling out of the entrance. He’s ridiculously excited about the whole thing, glancing at the huge glass doors every five seconds. Maybe it’s just a delayed Renjun effect.

Donghyuck should be out any second now.

Renjun adjusts his backpack, in that universal I’m-about-to-leave way. Just as Jaemin turns to bid him goodbye, a dark hooded figure heads their way, right into their little corner of the parking lot. Renjun’s hand finds Jaemin’s, grip tight around his wrist. He takes half a step to the side, subtly putting himself between Jaemin and the new person.

“Jesus,” Jaemin exclaims, when the figure is finally close enough that the hood no longer obstructs his face. He pushes a stunned Renjun aside, glaring. “Can you be like, less creepy?”

Ten grins at them, tugging the hood even lower, the asshole. “Now where’s the fun in that? Anyway, stop whining. Your morphers are ready and Taeyong wants you to come pick them up. Now.”

“Jaemin is busy.” Renjun says before Jaemin himself has the chance to. “Can we do it another time?”

“Another time?” Ten huffs. There’s an eye roll somewhere in there too, Jaemin is willing to bet his allowance, even if he can’t actually see Ten’s eyes. “It’s kind of a do or die situation, buddy. You need the morphers now. It’s only a matter of time before Serpentina or some other space asshole smells the gems on you. The dinosaur spirits alone can only protect you so much.”

Jaemin can’t help but glance back at the school’s entrance. There he is, finally. Donghyuck walking down the stairs with Choi Hayoung in tow, laughing about something. A moment or two, and Donghyuck will look up and see them.

“Come on,” Ten says and maybe it’s Jaemin’s imagination but his voice sounds kinder, somehow. “Taeyong is waiting.”

Jaemin turns to Renjun for… reassurance? To convince him to stay, maybe? And if Jaemin isn’t quite sure about Ten, the look in Renjun’s eyes is definitely apologetic.

“Fine,” Jaemin sighs eventually. “Let’s go before I regret this more than I already do.”

For what it’s worth, he does get a pat on the shoulder from Ten. It feels almost comforting.

Jaemin follows him blindly, eyes on the pavement. Definitely not glancing back at the school. If he does, he’ll probably catch Donghyuck looking at him, maybe even see the disappointment in his eyes. What you don’t know and all that.

And anyway, they’re the best of friends. Donghyuck will forgive him for ditching, even though Jaemin will be able to offer no explanation. 

They’ll be fine. Probably.

*

“If you say anything about spandex,” Ten says at the same time Renjun squeaks, _Is this spandex?_

The Donghyuck dilemma, as well as all thought process, really, evaporates as soon as Jaemin lays eyes on Renjun, in full ranger form. He’s too busy staring at Renjun’s, well. Everything. Spandex or not whatever these ranger suits are made of leaves very little to the imagination. Between the evil lizards and the floating island Jaemin almost forgot about the reason he was in the woods at the crack of dawn: Huang Renjun. Renjun, who’s looking quite appealing at the moment.

“I’m not wearing this.” Renjun states, examining his gloved hands in the sun. “I look like the villain in a bad horror movie!”

“Excuse you, you look like the _hero,”_ Ten huffs. 

Taeyong rubs at his temples. “The point of this is not to make you look good. But even if it was,” his eyes snap at Renjun and for a moment, there’s annoyance flashing in them. “It would’ve excelled at it.”

Honestly, even if he wasn’t immensely Renjun-biased, Jaemin thinks the suit would still look good.

He’s not about to say it out loud, though.

The suit is red, plain for the most part. The helmet is really cool though, Renjun’s face shield lined with teeth, like he’s peeking from the mouth of an actual dinosaur. The suit has a yellow dragon teeth running across Renjun’s chest as well, like a sash with the same teeth pattern as the one on his helmet. A gray shoulder piece sticks out on one side, right above a small dinosaur patch, fitted in one of the teeth. Jaemin squints and… it seems to be a T-Rex? So the dinosaurs are part of the suit. Jaemin wonders if they’ll both have the T-Rex or his stone means a patch with, what was the name, tricera-something? He can’t wait to see.

He looks down at his own morpher. It’s a bracelet, a thick metal band wrapped around his wrist with the stone somehow melded into it. It shouldn’t look as nice as it does, considering the stone is frankly too big for it but somehow, the whole thing looks… nice. Jaemin traces the gem with a finger and in an instant, the band twists and transforms into a more mechanical one, with a tiny dinosaur head atop. It has the same teeth pattern as Renjun’s suit.

“Please get on with it,” Renjun huffs, voice a little muffled under the helmet.

“You didn’t let me watch you morph,” Jaemin points out. “At least let me appreciate _my_ new toy.”

He has the distinct feeling that Renjun is rolling his eyes. “I did let you watch me morph, what I didn’t let you is butt into my personal space to do so. Now _get on with it.”_

Jaemin swallows the pang of hurt at the words and grins. “It’s a beautiful piece of equipment,” he says instead, taking his sweet time with the morpher. Taeyong preens at his words.

“I was the one who designed it,” he smiles. He wraps his fingers around his own bracelet but nothing happens. The bracelet has no stone and doesn’t change into a cute dinosaur when he touches it but it does seem to have a tiny dialpad installed. Jaemin can’t see it well from where he’s standing but what he does see is lifeless. Like a toy with no batteries.

“Taeyong is great at this type of stuff,” Ten grins, clapping Taeyong on the shoulder and effectively ruining whatever mood was forming.

"Ah right," Taeyong adds, finally tearing his eyes away from his… morpher? "While I was designing your morphers the gems reacted to something. I couldn't tell if it was another one of the gems or a zord but something is out there, awake."

"Very ominous," Renjun mutters. Maybe it's all the time Jaemin has spent looking at his face but he can _see_ the displeased turn of his mouth, the distrust in his eyes. It's like the black face shield isn't there at all. 

Ten shrugs. "Regardless of how you feel, you're a part of this now. Whether you like it or not. Serpentina might still be out there. Other things are out there. We’ve shown you the nice part.” he glances at Taeyong, at the thing that may or may not be a morpher. On instinct, Jaemin looks down. He wonders how he missed it: morphers. They’re morphers. Ten’s is different - it has a disc where Taeyong’s dialpad is. There’s only one similarity they really share: they both look equally dead. Ten looks back up and for once, he’s not amused. Not smiling. “The nice part is not all there is to it. The perks are great but the responsibility is greater.”

“That’s not a great selling point,” Jaemin laughs. It rings empty.

Taeyong sighs, plops down on one of the many stones scattered around the island. “At the end of the day, no one is going to force you to stay here. You can go.” 

Ten frowns, taking a step ahead. A challenge. “What Taeyong here is too noble to admit is that as much as I hate to admit it, we’re defenseless without you. We’re great fighters but there are only two of us. We don’t have your so-called magic powers anymore. We’re at risk. Your home, the whole world is at risk, if Serpentina gets her scaly hands on your gems.”

“Fine, fine, we get it,” Renjun says, after the silence becomes a little too long. “We’re out to save the world, blah blah. Don’t have to be so dramatic about it.”

“I’m probably not the best person to argue that,” Jaemin starts, freezing for a second, when all eyes are on him. “Saving the world is kind of… really dramatic.”

“Agreed,” Ten grins. “But as much as I hate to say it, your grumpy friend is right.” He takes a step back, eyes glued on Jaemin. “Ready to morph yet?”

“Sure,” Jaemin laughs, ignoring Renjun’s incredulous _So you listen to him?_ The mellow mood is well and truly gone at this point and he finds himself relieved, for some reason. “So,” he turns back to Taeyong. “I have to say _ancient storm power up?_ That’s kind of a mouthf-”

It’s sudden. Before Jaemin can even finish the sentence, that same electricity from earlier is coursing through his body. It feels like he’s being flinged in the air, spun around, thrown again. When he opens his eyes (when did he even close them?) the world is tinted black and he hasn’t moved a centimeter. His suit is a lot like Renjun’s, except pink, and Jaemin is pleased to see that he does have a tiny dinosaur patch too. 

When he looks up, Taeyong is frowning. “I should’ve probably told you it’s voice activated. When your morpher is on and you say the code word or words, it’ll automatically morph you.”

“Wait,” Renjun interrupts, whipping towards him. Maybe it’s just Jaemin, but his movements are more frantic somehow? “You said word or words. Does this mean we can change them?”

“Uh,” Taeyong mutters. He purses his lips, frowns some more. “Technically yes. But it has to be the same for everyone and everyone has just stuck with the standard words so far? It’s more symmetric-”

“I can’t wait to change it,” Renjun interrupts, again. He sounds way too excited. “Maybe something just _power up_ or _engage_ or something like that. It would be easier if we had to fight, that whole thing really is a mouthful.”

“Oh my god,” Jaemin breathes, overcome with a sudden wave of genius. “Can we change it to bubbles?”

Taeyong groans, face in his hands while Ten can’t seem to stop laughing. Renjun’s helmet doesn’t exactly allow for facial expressions but Jaemin has a feeling if it did, it would show him smiling, too.

*

“That was it?” Jaemin asks, incredulous. It hasn’t even been forty minutes since Ten got them on the island and now he’s about to kick them back to the ground. “This couldn’t have waited until tomorrow? I ruined my plans for _this?”_

“You’re now prepared for an attack,” Taeyong frowns, like it’s obvious. It probably is. Over the past few days he’d almost managed to convince himself that the fight in the clearing never happened but now, with all the… not-spandex. It feels real.

Scary.

There’s an incessant tapping to Jaemin’s left and when he turns around it’s Renjun, looking more irritated by the second. “You keep saying these… powers, these morphers are for protection. For fighting. Are just gonna ignore the fact that neither of us has ever fought in his life?”

“Ah,” Taeyong grins. “I suppose I forgot to mention this part. The dinosaur spirits come with certain… perks. Strength, speed. Skill and reflexes must be developed, of course, but you’ll have the base knowledge already.”

Jaemin blinks at him. “Let me get this straight: we get dinosaur voices in our heads and magically learned fighting abilities? And, uh. A not-spandex suit?”

“Yes.” Taeyong deadpans, expression decidedly less cheerful. Honestly, Jaemin has no idea why he’s so adamant about the spandex. It looks like spandex. It feels like spandex. Who really cares if it’s some sort of ultra complicated technology designed to resist murderous aliens? It’s magic spandex, really.

“I think it’s time I take you home before someone gets hurt,” Ten mutters, glancing warily at Taeyong’s increasingly annoyed expression. “You know, it would probably be a good idea to make a portal closer to town. If they have to drive each time they come...”

That finally snaps Taeyong out of whatever spandex-induced rage he’s in. “You’re just lazy and don’t want to have to bring them here every time.”

Ten shrugs. “That would just be a nice bonus.”

“Right.” Taeyong rolls his eyes, pushing him in the direction of the island’s edge. “Now go take them down and I’ll consider this new portal.”

As it often happens, Jaemin has come to realize, Ten’s only answer is a huff. He stalks in the direction they came from, not even bothering to check if Renjun and Jaemin are following.

It’s not like he has to, anyway. They can’t exactly get down themselves.

*

They’re ambushed.

Ten takes not even five steps on the path into the clearing they fought Serpentina in, when they’re flooded with a whole army of… creatures? They seem like humanoids but the shape is the only human thing about them. They’re this ugly poison green, covered in scales and - faceless? Where they should have eyes, lips, a nose they only have vague shapes. Like someone covered their faces with a thin piece of cloth, except. Except there is no cloth.

“Remember those magical fighting skills?” Ten asks, out of breath. He has one scaly creature in a chokehold, using it to leverage himself and kick two more away from himself. “Now is a perfect time to test them.”

Jaemin closes his eyes, trying to summon that same electricity he felt the first time he was in this clearing.

Suddenly everything feels slow motion. He can see the scaly thing lunging at Renjun from the back and doesn’t even think before he pushes him out of the way, landing a kick in the thing’s chest instead.

“What the fuck,” is how Renjun reacts to it all. If Jaemin’s being honest, he would like to know, too.

Instead, he shrugs. “Magic fighting powers? It feels great, actually.”

Renjun heaves a sigh. It sounds so exasperated, it’s kind of ridiculous. Especially given that they’re both surrounded by scaly assholes and just to their left, Ten is trying to fight six of them at once.

“Maybe,” Ten starts, when one of the reptiles flings him in Jaemin’s general vicinity, “maybe it would be a good idea to morph.”

“I’m not saying that stupid thing.” Renjun yells from where another reptile is trying to hold him down as he’s kicking a second one mid-air.

Jaemin stops in his tracks, confusing the hell out of the reptile attacking him, just to glare at Renjun. “You would rather die than say the jingle?”

He resumes kicking the reptile, effectively sending it across the clearing

“The jingle?” Ten huffs, whether out of breath or annoyed, who knows? “Just wait until Taeyong hears about this-”

Another sigh, this time resigned. Frankly, Jaemin is amazed at Renjun’s ability to sigh so loudly. He lifts his bracelet, watches the tiny, adorable t-rex spring into existence then, with about as much enthusiasm as he’s stating the weather, says _“_ Ancient storm, power up.”

His annoyance doesn’t last too long because they are surrounded but it’s a little hilarious and Jaemin stifles a laugh, powering up his own morpher.

Time to really test these ancient, dinosaur powers, then.

*

It’s bad.

Magical dinosaur powers or not, Ten is obviously the best fighter among them but even he’s getting tired and the stupid scaly things don’t stop coming.

At some point Jaemin had attempted replicating the explosion that saved them the first time, only to find the electricity… there, but different. More contained, stable. Definitely very, very far from being explosive. 

Jaemin makes a note to ask Taeyong about it later. If they get out of this alive.

It’s surprisingly… quiet. All the fight movies have lied to him, there are no obnoxious _hiyaaa-s_ , no creative swearing at the opponent.

Just the sound of heavy breathing, the constant thumps of a well landed fist or a kick and Jaemin, Renjun and Ten getting beat up by ugly, humanoid reptiles.

“When I said _you’d rather die,”_ Jaemin grumbles as he rolls away from the frantic stomps of yet another reptile, “I didn’t want to actually die.”

"No one is dying today, asshole." 

Jaemin freezes in his tracks. The voice is barely audible, somewhere to the side. It doesn't belong to either Renjun or Ten because both of them are currently being flung in the air, on opposite ends. Still, it's a voice Jaemin would recognize with his eyes closed, with nothing else to go by. It doesn't make _sense_ but that doesn't change the facts. 

He only manages to get a glimpse of something bright and yellow before, yet again, the world goes white. 

*

When Jaemin blinks his eyes open, the reptiles are no longer there. He’s still in the clearing sprawled on a patch of burnt grass. He’s demorphed at some point and now the soot is getting all over his nice jeans. 

Renjun and Ten are probably somewhere behind him, and judging by the heavy breathing, in similar condition to his own. A small part of Jaemin is insisting he makes sure they are alright, first. The bigger part of him is too busy staring straight ahead.

The reptiles are gone but someone else is there with them, in the clearing.

Jaemin can’t stop staring.

In the end, it’s Ten’s voice that breaks the silence.

“Oh,” he says, loud and somewhat… giddy? “Taeyong is gonna love this.”

A moment. Then another. Then Renjun, incredulous, exclaiming what Jaemin has been trying to wrap his head around for the past ten minutes.

“Lee Donghyuck?!”

*

“I can’t believe you found the yellow gem,” Taeyong says, in awe, completely ignoring Ten’s dramatic recounting of how they almost _died._

Donghyuck just stands there, fidgeting. Every so often he glances at the bare mountains scattered around the island, at Renjun. At Jaemin.

His nerves are obvious in the way his story of how the gem came into his possession was short, to the point. No dramatics, no theater worthy performance. If this were any other situation, Donghyuck would have taken twice the time and twice the care explaining how he begged his sister for a gift from her overseas trip and how she came home with this. He doesn't divulge into how he bonded with his own dinosaur which in itself is another red flag, because his dinosaur is a goddamn pterodactyl. How cool is that?

Jaemin, on the other hand, still has trouble processing everything. Confusion seems to be the predominant feeling haunting his brain and it doesn’t help that they haven’t said a word to each other after the explosion. He’s itching to go over to Donghyuck, say something. He hasn’t seen him this nervous since before high school, not in front of strangers.

But Ten and Taeyong are still talking and Renjun is frowning on Donghyuck’s other side, his delicate fingers wrapped around Donghyuck’s wrist. Probably a leader thing, Jaemin tells himself. He’s certainly not doing anything to ease Donghyuck’s transition through the whole _You’re a power ranger now_ spiel Taeyong is doing at the moment. It’s a comforting gesture, an innocent one but it makes something in Jaemin twist, ugly and uncomfortable. The worst part is, he’s not even sure who it is directed at.

“So yeah,” Taeyong finishes off, finally. “I detected your gem’s energy when I made their morphers so I have a model of how yours should look like but I’ll still need the actual gem to finish it. It should take about an hour, tops.”

“That’s… Nice,” Donghyuck says. He glances at Jaemin again, keeping eye contact for a little longer this time. “So this is what you two have been doing.”

“To be fair,” Renjun starts and Jaemin is somewhat relieved to see his hands fall to his sides. “We weren't doing anything that important, we got the morphers today. I guess… It’s easier being around someone who knows, you know?”

Taeyong looks each of them in the eye. First Renjun, then Jaemin. “You’re a team now. Teams stick together. So,” Taeyong turns to Donghyuck, smiling. “How do you feel about joining?”

Bit by bit, Jaemin can _see_ Donghyuck settling into this new role, adjusting. He’s always been better at that, out of the two of them.

So Donghyuck straightens up, offers a smile. “Do I even have a choice?” And before Taeyoung has the time to protest because he’s _about to,_ Donghyuck continues with, “I know I do. But who’s gonna keep this dumbass out of trouble if I leave?”

“Hey,” Jaemin whines on instinct. Just like that, whatever tense atmosphere was going on dissipates like it was never there. Renjun is nice enough to try and stifle his laughter but Donghyuck isn’t as nice, openly laughing at him instead. Even Ten and Taeyong are grinning.

Their lives might have just been turned on their heads but somehow, Jaemin knows it’s going to be alright.

*

 _“Excuse me,”_ Jaemin shrieks, watching in horror as Donghyuck twirls, fully morphed, an hour later. “You have a goddamn _skirt?”_

The horror on Taeyong’s face would’ve been hilarious if Jaemin wasn’t too busy staring. At Donghyuck. The not-spandex is just as bad on him as it is on Renjun but Donghyuck has the addition of an actual miniskirt wrapped around his thighs. He’s always had great legs and Jaemin finds himself… confused. 

“I think I programmed it the wrong way,” Taeyong mumbles in the end.

Ten, in a strangely awed voice, says, “No shit.”

Taeyong closes his eyes. “I’m gonna re-program it. Give me a day. Sorry.”

“I kinda like it, honestly.” Donghyuck says, propping a leg on one of the nearby stones. 

Renjun chokes a little.

Jaemin frowns. “I want a skirt too, this is not fair. Why does he get to have one?”

“Now, now, children,” Ten starts, voice placating. Jaemin glares at him but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. “Your suits are great as they are.” He gestures to Donghyuck, then at Jaemin. “If he’s fine with the skirt I don’t see an issue.”

“I look better a skirt than you and your chicken legs ever will, Na Jaemin,” Donghyuck says haughtily, a grin threatening to spill on his face.

Jaemin grits his teeth, even if he kind of agrees. Donghyuck doesn’t need the extra boost in confidence.

“You know what,” Ten sighs, glancing between the two of them with the look of someone done with life itself. “You should all probably head home already, it’s getting dark.”

Jaemin opens his mouth to protest but gets as far as, “This is not fair,” before Renjun shuts him up with a look. Jaemin wasn’t aware he could do that - but this is Huang Renjun we’re talking about. He can do everything.

In the end, Ten is right. They did disappear for a whole afternoon. It’ll probably be some time before Jaemin’s mom starts getting worried but he doesn’t really want to find out how long that is.

“You’ll get down prepared this time.” Taeyong announces. He disappears into the cave, only to reemerge with a total of... three fancy looking guns? He throws all of them at Ten. “We’re not taking any chances.”

*

If Jaemin thought walking back to the parking lot with Ten and Renjun was awkwardly quiet, walking back with Ten, Renjun _and Donghyuck_ is even worse.

He’s never been happier to be out of the woods and back to his car. And Donghyuck’s car? But of course, he’d had to follow them somehow.

“So who are you riding with?” Donghyuck asks, glancing at Renjun, then at the two cars parked at the edge of the forest.

Renjun glances at his phone, then at a car that just took the turn for the parking lot.

“With my mom,” he grins, waving at the person driving. “I told her we had some things to finish after the field trip. See you tomorrow!”

Donghyuck and Jaemin stare at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing.

“Wanna have the grand reunion now?” Jaemin suggests, as Renjun gets into the car. They watch it drive away in silence.

“Sure,” Donghyuck shrugs, heading for his own car. “Taeil probably missed me anyway.”

 _I did too,_ Jaemin doesn’t say.


	2. Ancient storm, power ranger green!

Yangyang is too tired to feel anything but sleepy as he steps off the plane. Following the stream of people into airport is muscle memory at best. It only hits him as he’s waiting for his suitcase, boring black with a small sticker of the Germany flag slapped on top: this is his home now. He’ll step out of the airport and blend into Seoul’s traffic then find the bus station that’ll take him to his new life.

Having parents with jobs that require moving often was fun initially - new places, new, fun things to do all the time. Little Yangyang was fascinated, had a whole collection little flag stickers on his old suitcase to prove it. But their stay in Germany got extended, then some more. He grew up, found friends. And their stay came to an end.

“It’s final this time,” his mom had said. “This is the last time we’ll move, they offered your dad a permanent position.”

Sometimes, a lot of times in the past few weeks, Yangyang wonders why that permanent position couldn’t be back home.

*

His parents are still in Germany, finalizing the move but Yangyang already missed the beginning of the school year here so they bundled him up and shipped him off to his new home. His mom was here earlier this month, arranging the house they’ll live in and Yangyang’s transfer to the new school. Now, he only has a distant relative waiting for him at home because he might be almost eighteen but almost isn’t relevant when your parents are convinced you’re still a child that needs to be taken care of.

When not in the throes of self proclaimed teen angst, Yangyang is willing to admit that’s probably true.

Navigating the way to the bus station is not too bad, at least. It’s relatively close to the airport and his mom calls three times as he searches for it. He already has a list of all the stops he has to pass and the bus is supposed to take about two hours, so he resigns himself to watching the scenery pass by. He attempts a nap, too, but the nerves of travelling alone, in an unfamiliar place are too much even for the exhaustion from the plane. It would’ve been nice if they announced the stops but keeping track of the signs for each town they pass by isn’t all that hard. It’s almost easy, even.

That is, until he’s finally dropped off at the right stop, in the right town, and has zero idea where the hell he’s supposed to be going. His navigation’s suggestions change with each step he takes - one second he’s fifteen minutes away from the house and the next it’s closer to an hour. 

As soon as he finds a suitable wall, Yangyang just leans against it, suitcase in tow, and takes a moment to regret his entire existence.

His navigation is now showing him 47 minutes which is. Well. Better than an hour? The street is empty, too, save for a guy walking down the sidewalk in Yangyang’s direction. He seems to be around his age, jet black hair and body that doesn’t match the way he’s smiling softly at his phone  _ at all.  _ It makes asking for directions all that more daunting. It doesn’t help that the closer he gets, the more Yangyang realizes just how easy on the eyes this stranger is. Talking to cute, old grandmas is one thing but asking a hot boy for directions? That’s a manga Yangyang doesn’t feel like participating in, thanks.

But the moment he shifts, his estimated walking time goes to 58 minutes and- okay, maybe he doesn’t actually have much of a choice.

(Besides calling his mom. But he’s determined to show her he’s a strong, independent adult now. Regardless of what the truth actually is.)

“Hey,” Yangyang starts when the boy passes him by. “Could you maybe help me? I think I got lost.” 

The guy blinks at him, a little like he’s just woken up. “Lost?”

Yangyang purses his lips. Maybe his Korean isn’t as good as he thought it is? His teacher was hopeful but then again, it is his third language. In the end, he shoves his phone in the hot boy’s face. The GPS gives a pathetic refresh, then changes his route to five minutes. 

“Ah,” the guy nods, taking the phone from Yangyang’s hand. He glances back, then takes his suitcase as well. “I know where that is, I’ll walk you.”

Yangyang allows himself a whole two seconds to freak out. He promised himself the freak outs would be reduced to a minimum once he arrives in South Korea but here he is, now. Freaking out. Because of a pretty boy being nice to him.

He hurries ahead before he loses the boy  _ and  _ his suitcase.

*

His name is Lee Jeno and he’s born in the same year Yangyang is. He does know where Yangyang is headed because he lives only two blocks away and when Yangyang mentions which school he’s supposed to go to Jeno offers to walk him the next day. Because they share the school as well. It’s not that much of a feat, considering there are a grand total of two schools in this town but somehow, it makes Yangyang feel… nice.

Jeno keeps glancing at his neck every so often but it only strikes Yangyang as weird for the first few times. He’s been flirted with before and he knows, distantly, that some people are into different things. Maybe Jeno’s thing is necks.

(Or maybe it’s because he has a similar pendant around his neck, a small metal locket that looks just the right size to hold Yangyang’s talisman. Yangyang prefers his original theory more.)

The talisman around Yangyang’s neck grows a little warm and he reaches up to touch it on instinct. It’s been doing that a lot lately, especially after he landed in Seoul. Before that, the only time it was warm was when the stone was given to him. But that’s not something he’s ready to think about yet. His friends back at home- then again, this is his home now.

“This is you,” Jeno beams, propping Yangyang’s suitcase against an unassuming wall. It’s an apartment building, not a very big one but Yangyang knows their place is supposed to be on the top floor. Jeno pats his shoulder, setting off in the direction they just came from. “I’m gonna come pick you up tomorrow, yeah? Wait for me.”

Yangyang nods and Jeno’s smile gets impossibly bigger. His eyes disappear into little crescents and for a second, Yangyang wonders if  _ his  _ smile has ever made people feel what Jeno’s makes him feel. He waves, yells out a, “Thank you, definitely!” and prepares himself for his new life.

*

The old lady isn’t that bad. Her name is Mrs Kim and she’s a distant cousin on his mom’s part, apparently. Yangyang kind of likes her - she smiles a lot and she cooks for him. She even prepared him lunch, as a _ hope you do well _ wish for his first day of school. It was a nice thing to wake up to, considering Yangyang’s body still isn’t sure exactly where he is. He feels like he hasn’t slept in years, even though jet lag kept him unconscious almost through the entire night. 

All in all, it’s one of  _ those  _ days.

And then, like a knight in shining armor in the form of an ugly blue vest, Lee Jeno grins up at him when he opens the front door. Maybe Yangyang should’ve expected it, he did promise, but it still takes him by surprise to find finds Jeno actually waiting for him. 

“Hey,” Jeno greets, eyes droopy and tired but somehow, still smiling. “Ready for your first day of school?”

“Honestly? Not at all,” Yangyang sighs. “I kinda wish I didn’t have to have a second first day at school.”

“Aw,” Jeno coos, coupled with a pat on the shoulder. Yangyang can’t help but notice the tips of Jeno’s fingers brush his neck, right where the string of his talisman sits. His hand retracts so fast, though, Yangyang is almost sure he imagined it. “I can’t say I get it because I probably don’t,” Jeno continues, hands in his pockets. “But I can promise you this: I’ll do my best to make you feel at home as much as possible.”

Now, Yangyang doesn’t consider himself a crier. He doesn’t. But right now? With the exhaustion from the endless flight still clinging to his bones and his friends and family being a whole world away. It’s easy to forget that.

But Jeno is a stranger. A really cute, really nice stranger but a stranger still. So Yangyang bites back whatever residual emotion his move to South Korea left, says a quiet, sincere, _ thank you, _ and changes the topic.

*

Yangyang is not entirely sure what he was expecting, really. 

There are two classes in his grade and for a change, he gets placed into the one Jeno is not in. It’s not the best case scenario because who wouldn’t want to share a class with their newfound friend? But it’s okay, ultimately. Yangyang’s class may not have a Jeno but it has another kid that sounds like he could be Chinese and his deskmate and… Na Jaemin. 

You’d think a town like this would have some sort of quota on beautiful people, simply for Yangyang’s poor sanity. But here he is: first Jeno, then the boy with a smile larger than the sun itself who answers to their History teacher’s mumble when of  _ Na Jaemin? _

The first few periods pass by in a blur, with Yangyang alternating between subtly staring at Jaemin and trying to think of a way to strike a conversation with the possibly Chinese guy.

Neither of them, nor the rest of the class as a whole, for that matter, are actively avoiding him. But no one makes an effort to reach out, either. So Yangyang decides to bide his time for now. He’ll have the whole year to make friends and he sort of has Jeno now. It’s not all that bad.

*

It is that bad.

As much as Yangyang tried to avoid the stupid manga trope here he is, sucked in by it anyway. Because of course,  _ of course, _ the possibly-Chinese guy (Renjun, Yangyang corrects himself sternly) is friends with Na Jaemin who’s friends with another boy by the name of Donghyuck who may or may not be Jeno’s boyfriend. At least he thinks. They certainly look like they are dating.

It’s safe to say, Yangyang is having quite the eventful lunch right now.

The talisman around his neck grows warm the longer he sits there, and one by one, the others start glancing at his neck much like Jeno did yesterday. Yangyang is beginning to suspect it’s not his face that draws all the attention.

“Oh, you know what would be great?” Jaemin exclaims, a mischievous smile on his lips. Yangyang finds it equally terrifying and, frankly, hot. Oh well. “We should absolutely hang out, all five of us. 

“Jeno and Renjun are relatively new additions to our little team, you see,” Jaemin goes on to explain.

Jeno huffs. “Speak for yourself, I was friends with both Renjun and Donghyuck before.”

It’s a bit awkward, after that. Jaemin is doing his best not to look affected but failing miserably at it. Donghyuck just looks tired.

“I think a bonding time would be a good idea, actually,” Renjun interjects finally, throwing a smile in Yangyang’s direction. “I have a feeling we’re going to be spending a lot of time together, might as well get used to it.”

“It’s decided, then,” Jaemin beams, completely ignoring Jeno’s mumble of  _ Is it? _ “We can meet at Donghyuck’s place, he has a big TV. We can watch something or play video games or like, just hang out.”

“Sure Jaemin, thanks for asking if I’d like to host,” Donghyuck mumbles. It goes unnoticed.

Renjun shrugs. “Sounds good to me.”

It’s a lot, for a first day at a new school. There are a lot of things going on under the surface, that much is obvious. But Yangyang met most of these people this morning and it’s not like the rest of his classmates are lining up to be his friends. So he shrugs his consent, trying very hard not to let Jaemin’s resulting smile burn him from the inside.

*

It seems that once he’s been  _ noticed,  _ alone time at school is no longer a thing that happens. Renjun and Jaemin make it a point that at least one of them sits with him or as close to him as possible in all classes. Breaks between class become a team activity as well, more often than not with Jeno and Donghyuck joining them.

Briefly, Yangyang thinks that if this is how his new life is going to be- maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing to get used to.

Before he knows it, the last bell of the day is ringing and Yangyang’s second first day of school for the year is finally, finally over.

Renjun and Jaemin walk him to the entrance where Jeno and Donghyuck are already waiting, hand in hand. It’s adorable, even if there’s a pang of regret that Yangyang has to pretend doesn’t exist.

“Hey,” Jeno greets them, grinning. “I’m actually headed for soccer practice but I wanted to say goodbye. See you tomorrow morning?”

The last bit is directed at Yangyang only, and he freezes for half a second, before he blurts out a, “Sure!”

Donghyuck gives him a funny look, once Jeno has headed to the gym. Yangyang proceeds to pretend he doesn’t see it, instead taking half a step back. Right into Jaemin.

“Easy,” Jaemin’s voice laughs close, so close and there are hands on Yangyang’s waist,  _ to steady him, _ and oh god, he’s so screwed.

The expression on Donghyuck’s face shifts to something unreadable and Yangyang audibly swallows.

“Uh,” he starts, bolting out of Jaemin’s hold like he’s been burned. “I think I should probably head home.”

Renjun nods. “Yeah, we are too. We’ll take you home? Both Donghyuck and Jaemin live in your direction, sort of. And me and Jaemin are really behind on club duties, so he’s coming to my place later. And he’s the one with the car anyway.”

“Club?” Yangyang asks, earlier mortification replaced by curiosity. No one said anything about clubs. 

It’s Donghyuck that replies this time, with a meaningful look in Jaemin’s direction. 

“Oh yeah, Jaemin is in the Astronomy club. Beats me as to why, considering he’s shit at anything science related.”

“Shut up,” Jaemin grits. If looks could kill, Yangyang has a suspicion Donghyuck would be six feet under right now.

“Anyway,” Renjun interjects. “As entertaining as this conversation is, I’m not exactly eager to stay in school past school hours. Shall we go?”

“Ugh, fine,” Donghyuck mumbles finally. 

Turns out, Jaemin has parked a street down from the school, for reasons Yangyang doesn’t understand. The walk to the parking lot is quiet, very different to how it was with Jeno this morning. Yangyang has a feeling it’s not his fault, though, so it makes things slightly better.

He’s considering different ways of how to break the silence, when suddenly the empty street is not so empty anymore. It happens in the blink of an eye - one moment it’s just the four of them, awkward beyond belief, and the next they're surrounded by these ugly, scaly reptiles.

Now, he’s not one to swear often (at least in public) but right now, his brain comes up with a single thought:  _ What the fuck? _

Jaemin, Renjun and Donghyuck all crowd around him, surrounding him from all sides in what seems like… a fighting formation? What?

“One of us has to take him to safety,” Renjun grunts, kicking away one of the scaly things away when it attacks.

It looks like the rest were just waiting for someone to make the first move because suddenly, it’s a flurry of movements all around him. The scaly things are maybe seven in total and it doesn’t seem like they’re going to give up soon, regardless of how many times one of the boys flattens them. 

They still have Yangyang in the middle, covered from all sides. He reaches for his talisman on instinct and it’s warm, so warm that he wonders how it’s not burning his skin under the sweater.

“Well, well,” a voice says, just to the side. The flurry of movement halts for a hot second, all eyes to the source of the voice. It’s… a power ranger?

_ What? _

Their suit is blue, a yellow sash with what seems to be teeth running across his chest. They just stand there, surrounded by reptiles on both sides. At first, Yangyang is convinced they’ll join them in the battle. The reptiles don’t attack them, though. Instead, they seem to wait for orders instead.

“You know what I want,” the ranger says. Their voice sounds somewhat familiar, even through the distortion of the face shield but Yangyang has trouble placing it. “Surrender the boy and I’ll leave in peace.”

“Over my dead fucking body,” Donghyuck hisses. The look he’s giving the blue ranger is hard enough that Yangyang is convinced that in a one on one battle, the winner would be Donghyuck if only on power of determination alone.

The blue ranger sighs. “I don’t want to fight you. Any of you. I just want the boy.”

It occurs to Yangyang then that he is who the ranger is talking about. He’s  _ the boy. _

“Well too bad,” Jaemin grins, slow and determined. “Because we do want to fight you. And you’re not getting anyone.”

It’s only then that Yangyang notices - the reptiles have stopped attacking. And the reason he did notice is that another sigh from the blue ranger, a flick of their wrist and the reptiles are onto them again.

Yangyang is slowing them down. He’s dead weight in this fight and he isn’t contributing to their effort at all. That much even he can see. The talisman on his neck is burning now. When he looks down, he fully expects it to have burned a hole through his hoodie. There isn’t one but it feels like it should be. 

But that’s a concern for another day, right now he wants to be helpful. “I can-”

He doesn’t get to finish whatever it was that he can do, because Renjun flings a reptile so far back it hits a tree. Yangyang is only vaguely aware of his mouth hanging open. 

“Jaemin,” Renjun huffs, flinging yet another reptile away. “Morph, take Yangyang to the island, I can feel it. I’ll be damned if there is yet another fucking explosion on my watch.”

“But-”

“Take him,” Renjun hisses, and the authority in his voice is enough to make even Yangyang flinch.

Not Jaemin, though.

“He’ll see,” he insists, pausing in his quest to help fight off a reptile that managed to get in Donghyuck’s personal space somehow. “I can’t leave you alone.”

“We’ll deal,” Donghyuck smiles, soft. Granted, Yangyang has known him for a grand total of one day but still, it feels like something so, so rare. “And he’ll have to see anyway. You know that. Take him.”

Renjun nods, then, with a flat voice and a pained expression Yangyang a feeling has nothing to do with the battle at hand, says, “It’s morphin’ time.”

Jaemin closes his eyes for half a second. When he opens them again, they’re eerily calm. Donghyuck and Renjun both grin at him. Like one, all three of them raise a hand in the air. Yangyang can do nothing but watch and it seems the blue ranger shares the sentiment, body rigid with how focused they are. The light catches on the boys’ wrists and Yangyang wonders how he missed the bracelets there. They’re wide, solid. Something glints in the middle - pink, yellow, red. Something shiny, something that almost looks like-

“Bubbles!”

Nothing moves for a few long seconds. Jaemin, Renjun and Donghyuck each jump back, back flipping in the air. When they land back on their feet they’re no longer just Yangyang’s new friends, with an unexpected but useful penchant for protecting him. 

They’re power rangers.

“Oh my god,” Yangyang breathes at the same time as the blue ranger exclaims,

_ “Bubbles?!” _

“Hey, screw you,” the pink ranger exclaims. Jaemin? Yangyang is pretty sure Jaemin was the one who turned pink, it sounds like him. Then Renjun, red and then Donghyuck must be yellow. With a skirt.

“Told you it’s stupid,” Renjun mutters, landing a flying kick at the reptile lunging at him.

“I wish I had time to argue with all of you,” Jaemin says and all of a sudden, there is a pink gloved hand wrapped around Yangyang’s waist. “But unfortunately, I gotta run.”

He fights his way through the reptiles with Yangyang under his arm, quite literally, and by the time they reach the car Yangyang is sure his nice lunch is going to find its way out the wrong way very soon.

“You know,” Yangyang says when he’s shoved into the passenger seat, “This whole ordeal would’ve been a lot less traumatizing if you had let me run along you. Probably faster, too.”

Jaemin doesn’t seem to feel it necessary to reply. Yangyang buckles his seatbelt with shaky hands as they speed out of the parking lot and down the street.

“I should probably warn you in advance,” Jaemin says eventually, five minutes into their drive. “We’re going to the woods. And then on a floating island with giant dinosaur mountains. I feel like that’s something you need to be prepared for.”

“With-” Yangyang frowns. “Can’t I just… go home?”

Jaemin gives him a sideways glance and even through the black face shield, Yangyang can feel the judgement there. “You’re being chased by a psycho blue ranger. You can’t just go home, no.”

It’s a decent reply, probably. It just doesn’t give the answers he wants. 

“Okay but. Why? Why is he chasing me?”

“I guess that answers my question about whether you’re aware of it. I really didn’t want to be the one to explain it to you,” Jaemin sighs. He stays quiet for a long time, eyes never leaving the road (probably. Yangyang can’t actually see them). “You have a dino gem.”

"A-" The thing is, Jaemin's words shouldn't make any sense. Yangyang should probably be more skeptical overall but the truth is, his talisman has been essentially burning a hole through his neck since the fight started. The looks Jaemin’s friends' gave Yangyang make a lot more sense now. 

"Yeah," Jaemin says, voice gentle. "I'm taking you to our mentors, I guess you could call them. They're better at explaining these things than I am."

"Thank you," Yangyang mumbles, because what else is he supposed to say, really? Apparently the pretty, green talisman Kun gave him is a dino gem. Whatever that is. And there is a potentially psycho blue ranger after him.

His life in South Korea is starting just great. 

*

"So basically, you're a superhero now." Ten finishes with a flourish, earning himself an eye roll from Taeyong. “Oh! And you’re also somewhat mind linked to a velociraptor. That’s the dinosaur spirit linked to your gem and also your zord.”

If he tries to assimilate it all, Yangyang thinks his brain might just explode, so he decides to focus on other things instead: like Taeyong and Ten. The two of them are an odd pair. If Yangyang is being honest, they remind him a little of Kun and Sicheng, even if their personalities are quite different. 

Or maybe he just misses his life back home. 

He doesn’t get to dwell on it too much, because a moment later Donghyuck and Renjun burst through the portal, still suited up, annoyance pouring out of them in waves.

Renjun is the first to demorph. “You said you found only two gems! And there we were, attacked by a freaking blue ranger.”

Taeyong frowns. “There weren’t any other active ones when I was making Donghyuck’s morpher.”

“Well, I guess there are now,” Donghyuck himself grumbles, demorphing as well. “We have Yangyang here now and that blue asshole...”

“What even happened out there? After we left?” Jaemin asks, walking over to where Donghyuck just plopped down on a stone, then proceeds to drape himself over him.

Renjun considers them for a moment, expression unreadable. Then he sighs. “The blue ranger tried going after you. We did his best to stall them and when we heard the engine of Jaemin’s car they pretty much just left. We fought the reptilians for a bit longer but that’s it.”

“He wanted Yangyang’s gem,” Jaemin says, frowning. “He knew Yangyang had it but I have no idea how, we just figured it out this morning and even we weren’t completely sure.”

"We have to consider the possibility that they have some sort of way to track gem activity." Taeyong sighs. "It would mean a lot of bad things for us but we have to consider it."

"This proves something else, too." Ten starts, eerily serious. "First Serpentina, then the reptilians, then this mysterious blue ranger on their side."

Yangyang waits for the rest of that sentence. Maybe they forgot he learned about all this roughly fifteen minutes ago? 

"Forgive my ignorance," he says when it doesn't look like anyone is about to elaborate, "but  _ what  _ does it prove?"

“It means,” Taeyong replies, with this ridiculously ominous voice, “that we aren’t facing random attacks. Serpentina is merely a soldier for hire, not a true leader. The reptilians’ attacks are too organized. There is someone else out there. Someone who is controlling them all.”

Like every good, dramatically effective moment, there is only silence that follows. Yangyang has a suspicion it’s due to genuine confusion on his (apparently) fellow rangers’ part but that doesn’t take away from the effect.

Eventually, Taeyong sighs again. “It’s good that the gems found you when they did. It makes sense, really. They sensed danger was coming so they found the bravest souls to bind to.”

Taking a look at the others, all three’s expressions are in various stages of concern but with one thing in common: determination.

Yangyang doesn’t feel all that brave, if he’s being honest. Apparently this stone around his neck doesn’t think that way which in itself is a weird thought but hey. At least he’s a cool superhero now?

*

“It’s fine,” Renjun says, while they’re on their way out of the woods. “We were pretty weirded out at first. Well, I guess we still are, to an extent.”

Donghyuck laughs, falling into step with Yangyang and essentially kicking Renjun to the side. “We very much are. I was the last to join before you, though, so it’s nice to not be the odd one out.”

“You were never the odd one out,” Jaemin frowns. He squeezes himself in between Yangyang and Donghyuck, linking hands with both of them. Yangyang does his best to will his heartbeat to slow down. Not looking at Jaemin could probably help if he weren’t right next to him, but Yangyang quickly decides staring at Donghyuck instead is the safer option. Which, really, is why he happens to witness it: some kind of emotion flashing through Donghyuck’s eyes - something fond, laced with… longing? It’s gone as quickly as it came, however, so Yangyang doesn’t get to interpret it.

He can’t help but glance back at Renjun, too. He’s walking half a step behind, frowning as well, eyes on their linked hands. Yangyang feels a little bad, but not bad enough to let go.

“Yeah, yeah, but you can’t deny that your gems found you at the same time, while I was the one that joined later. We didn’t share the  _ Oh shit, there’s a dinosaur in my head _ experience either.” Donghyuck says, easily slipping out of Jaemin’s grip.

He moves to Yangyang’s other side instead, and Yangyang finds himself freaking the hell out, a pretty boy on each hand. Good to know his stupid manga issues aren’t overshadowed by boring everyday things, like becoming a superhero or finding you’re actually mind linked to an actual dinosaur. Thank god, really.

“But-” Jaemin tries, but doesn’t get to finish.

“I know, you idiot,” Donghyuck interrupts, voice fond. “Anyway. You and Renjun wasted enough time already. Just drop us off back at school and I’ll walk Yangyang home from there. I don’t think those scaly assholes would attack again this soon.”

Jaemin pouts. “But I could just drop you off  _ at home.” _

“I could use the extra practice finding my way home, honestly.” Yangyang interjects. He doesn’t feel like walking, not really, and extra Jaemin time sounds like a good idea in theory but his entire being is screaming that this is, in fact, the right choice. Donghyuck shoots him a grateful glance, which only confirms his instincts further.

Jaemin doesn’t look too happy about it but he doesn’t protest either, so that’s that. The ride back to school is oddly quiet and when they finally reach their destination, Yangyang finds himself relieved.

He and Donghyuck watch Jaemin pull out of the parking lot and disappear down the street before they finally head home.

“Thank you for that,” Donghyuck says and there it is, that same expression - fond but _ longing. _ “I kind of didn’t feel like spending more time with the two of them.”

“That sounds like a story,” Yangyang comments, hoping he doesn’t sound as curious as he feels.

It’s a little hard to believe he met these people today. Already, Donghyuck, as well as Jaemin and Renjun have been part of what’s probably one of the biggest events in Yangyang’s life, The Big Move included. Even if it doesn’t quite feel real yet, the constant, gentle voice in his head is there to remind him that it is.

Donghyuck smiles softly. “I guess it is. I have a feeling we’ll share that story pretty soon, though. I saw the way you’re looking at Jaemin.”

Yangyang sputters, almost tripping over his own feet. “I-”

“It’s fine,” Donghyuck laughs, a hand on his waist to steady him. “Jaemin is kind of- radiant feels like a good descriptor. It’s inevitable. He’s been obsessed with Renjun for a very long time, though.”

That… makes a lot of sense. The gentle looks, the casual touches. Jaemin seems like a touchy person in general, but it’s somehow different with Renjun. The odd part is, it seems kind of different with Donghyuck, too.

The way Donghyuck talks about them sounds like it is something he’s been thinking about a lot, too.

But in the end, Yangyang has known them for a whole day. What does he even know?

*

Turns out, Donghyuck doesn’t exactly live  _ close. _ Not by walking distance, at least. He’s also not headed home, though, so Yangyang doesn’t feel that bad.

Where he’s headed for is Jeno’s.

“So you and Jeno, huh?” Yangyang asks when Donghyuck divulges this information.

“It’s a recent thing.” Donghyuck gets that distinct, faraway look of someone possibly in love. It would be disgusting if it weren’t so cute. “He’s really sweet and he knows about my story, I guess. He has stories of his own, too.”

Yangyang has only been in one relationship before but he can’t imagine she would’ve taken so kindly to him having feelings for someone else. 

“So casual, then?”

Donghyuck shrugs. “I don’t think so? It doesn’t feel casual and I’d be very displeased if he fools around with random strangers. We’re happy together and it wouldn’t be fair to judge him for the skeletons in his closet when I’m not over mine.”

It makes sense, really. It does. But Yangyang is kind enough to allow himself a moment of self-pity: of course, out of his two potential crushes, one is taken and the other hopelessly devoted. At least it’s nice to know they’re into boys too?

“This is me,” Donghyuck says eventually. Yangyang looks up to see a building, just as unfamiliar as the shops littered around it. The street looks a little like the one his own house is located though, so he’s hopeful, even if a little uneasy with the still-unfamiliar streets. It must show on his face, because Donghyuck’s next words are, “Oh my god, I’m not just going to ditch you. I just thought you might want to know where Jeno lives.”

Yangyang narrows his eyes. “That was an odd way to put it. You are out to get me, aren’t you?”

Donghyuck shrugs, a smile playing on his lips. “You were cute freaking out.”

He’s not even denying it, the asshole. Yangyang is torn between mad and- oddly flustered? What?

_ You met these people today, _ he tells himself sternly. Between the scaly monsters and the magical spandex, it’s easy to forget that.

Something dawns on him, then. “Wait. Why would you want me to know where Jeno lives?”

Donghyuck raises an eyebrow. “Because you’re friends? You want to know where your friends live, don’t you?”

“I- yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” Yangyang hurries to say. That was close. What were you really thinking, Liu Yangyang? That your crush’s boyfriend would try to set you up? With the crush in question?

“Stop thinking so much,” Donghyuck laughs, reaching to ruffle Yangyang’s hair. He’s immediately shrugged off because _ no,  _ but that only serves to fuel his laughter further.

“You’re awful,” Yangyang mutters, walking a few paces ahead even though he’s not entirely sure if this is the right direction.

Donghyuck catches up easily, looping his arm around Yangyang’s without much preamble. “Nonsense. I’m a delight.”

You are, Yangyang doesn’t say. Donghyuck doesn’t look like he needs the boost of ego and even then, Yangyang isn’t ready to admit it yet. Whatever. They should be almost at his new home anyway.

*

Mrs Kim isn’t home when Yangyang arrives which is both a blessing and a curse. It feels nice to know he won’t get grilled about his day before he’s had time to process it himself but at the same time, coming home to an empty house is never fun.

He thinks about calling his parents - he _should,_ anyway, except the thought of telling them about his mess of a day doesn’t feel much better than telling Mrs Kim about it.

So he does the next best thing: he calls Kun.

“Hello there,” Kuns grins at him through the grainy video connection. “I thought you said, and I quote, absolutely will not call you crying for help for any reason whatsoever.”

Yangyang rolls his eyes, almost disconnecting the call on instinct. But he knows for a fact Kun is working right now, and is probably hiding in the back room of his bakery to talk to him. “Do I look like I’m crying?”

“No,” Kun admits, thoughtful. “But you’re also a great actor.”

“Thanks but still not crying,” Yangyang grunts, to Kun’s utter delight. “I guess I do miss you though. Everything here is so unfamiliar.”

Kuns expression softens and the camera moves, the setting gets darker. Now he’s definitely in the back room. “I wish you were close enough to send you food, at least. If I mail cupcakes all the way there, they’ll get disgusting by the time they reach you.”

“You could always come over and make them here instead,” Yangyang suggests. It’s not something he’d admit willingly, not usually at least. But after a first day like this - he’s willing to cut himself some slack for letting his inner sap out in the open.

“I really wish I could,” Kun says, voice soft. But I can’t, goes unsaid and neither of them have anything to add for a few minutes. “You’re wearing the necklace I gave you,” Kun points out eventually.

Yangyang’s hands immediately go to the dino gem around his throat. Taeyong hasn’t gotten around to making a morpher for it yet but apparently after practicing on the three before his, he doesn’t need to hold his gem close either.

“Yeah,” Yangyang grins. “It got me some friends, actually. I think colorful gemstones are all the craze around here.”

“They are?” Kun asks, eyebrows in his hairline. “You met other people with gems like yours?”

Yangyang shrugs. “Kinda. Theirs are different colors, though.”

Kun’s expression goes from surprised to worried in a heartbeat and Yangyang wonders if he said anything bad. Before he can say anything, though, Dejun’s face pushes into the frame.

“What’s up, loser? Miss us already?” he grins, effectively ruining whatever mood was forming.

Kun doesn’t look much better but at least Yangyang has an excuse to change the topic now.

“Definitely didn’t miss you,” he says flatly, to which Dejun just laughs. 

A hand reaches into the frame, dragging Dejun away by the straps of his apron. It would’ve been hilarious, if Sicheng’s unimpressed face didn’t replace Dejun’s right after.

“I was wondering why everyone is slacking in the back.” He mutters, eyes softening a fraction when he finally sees Yangyang on the screen. “It’s nice to see you made it past the first day. This shop isn’t gonna run itself, though.”

The video feed cuts off before Yangyang can say anything else and it would be incredibly frustrating, if he wasn’t so used to it. Coming from Sicheng, it was almost nice. Almost.

Yangyang shuts his laptop without bothering to turn it off and reminds himself that’s all his past life. Spending way too much time at the bakery, being annoying with Dejun and being mothered by Kun (and occasionally Sicheng) - that’s not a thing that’s going to happen anymore.

His life now is all colorful stones and magic spandex, and a whole spider web of relationships which has no idea how to navigate.

But hey, it’s just the first day, right?

*

Once again, Jeno is waiting for him when he opens his front door.

“You know,” Yangyang laughs, stifling the stupid, giddy feeling in his gut, “I should be the one waiting for you. Your house is on my way to school, not the other way around.”

Jeno blinks at him. It’s adorable. Yangyang hates it. “You know where I live?”

“Uh,”  _ Now what, dumbass? _ “Donghyuck showed me yesterday? He walked me home and he said he’s staying at your house later.”

“He did?” Jeno asks, curious. Yangyang nods, and Jeno stays quiet for a moment longer, before he’s smiling and Yangyang kind of feels like he’s being punched in the gut. “Well then. Tomorrow, if you manage to lead me from your home to mine, you can pick me up instead.”

“Deal.” Yangyang grins. He already sort of knows the way. It’s just two blocks and he’s walked them twice now - it’s not that hard. He can absolutely do this.

*

He still finds Jeno glancing at his dino gem every so often but there are no accidental touches this time. 

Jeno keeps him occupied with mindless conversation, though, so Yangyang doesn’t dwell on it too much. How does he like school? What did he do yesterday when Jeno left?

The last one is a bit harder to answer because lying isn’t his thing, even if for the greater good but Taeyong’s order was clear: no one knows unless they absolutely have to.

*

It’s a relatively normal day, all things considered. Jaemin’s face lights up like a kid at Christmas when he sees Yangyang, which is just as flattering as it is creepy. It makes a little more sense when Jaemin gently slides a bracelet much like his own on Yangyang’s wrist, right after first period. His whole being is screaming for him to put the stone in the carving on top. It’s Jaemin, again, who gently unclasps the necklace, detaches the stone and carefully fits it in the bracelet. A second later, it’s like the stone has always been there. It feels right. And Yangyang’s head is blissfully quiet again.

It should be odd, maybe, how comfortable Jaemin is with touching him. They did meet yesterday and if Yangyang got anything from the long and complicated speech Taeyong and Ten had yesterday, it’s that Renjun should be the leader. And isn’t that something a leader should be? But Yangyang is hard-pressed to complain, especially, when Jaemin spends the remainder of the day hanging off his neck at every possible second.

It’s quite the leap from yesterday, even if Jaemin was far from cold towards him even then.

Yangyang can’t stop thinking about Donghyuck’s words, about how Jaemin is obsessed with Renjun. And he can see it, too - little glances when he thinks Renjun isn’t looking, automatic agreement to everything Renjun says.

It’s so easy to pick up once you know what you’re looking for. 

It takes Yangyang until lunch to figure out something else, too - Renjun does the exact same thing. It’s just not Jaemin that he does it to. His eyes follow Donghyuck instead, whether he realizes it or not.

Jaemin couldn’t have missed it. It’s easy to be blind to something when it involves you directly but this? It doesn’t seem like something you’d miss about someone you care for. Especially if it’s obvious enough for someone who met them yesterday. 

It kind of makes sense, really. Jaemin being all in his space. Yangyang wishes he had enough pride to be mad about it, but he finds himself enjoying the attention anyway. He has the weird, shapeless feeling with Jeno’s name written all over it. Who is he to blame Jaemin for trying to forget his?

So yes. Aside from the tangled web of relationships getting even more complicated, it’s a relatively normal day.

And then their bracelets flash, each with its own color. There is noise in Yangyang’s head that simply won’t go away, annoying and insistent like an alarm. By the pained expressions surrounding him, he’s not the only one to feel it.

They still have the last period to go, break is almost over but for once, school seems to take a backseat.

Renjun is the first one to run and like one, Donghyuck and Jaemin follow, Jaemin gripping Yangyang’s wrist tight enough to bruise. Not like he needs to, anyway. Yangyang feels the same pull to follow.

There is a reason Renjun is the leader, after all.

*

They take a moment to morph behind an abandoned building and just as well, because next thing they know, there are a dozen reptilians scattered around the overgrown parking lot.

The blue ranger is there too, and so is another monster. It looks nothing like a snake, so Yangyang decides he has yet to meet the mysterious Serpentina. 

“You know what I want, rangers,” the blue ranger says haughtily, arms across their chest. “Surrender the green gem and me and my friends here will be out of your hair.”

“Why are you so hung up on the green gem anyway?” Jaemin grits, voice tinny and distorted through the face shield. “He’s just as bonded to his gem as we are. Even if we were stupid enough to give you anything, how are we to know you won’t just use it to get to the rest of us?”

“I guess that’s a fair question,” The blue ranger laughs. “I probably will use it to get to the rest of you. But the first answer is easy - I like him a lot more than I like you, princess.”

Jaemin looks two seconds away from attacking and Renjun’s hand wrapping around his wrist seems like the only thing to keep him from doing so.

“I think we’ve established,” Renjun says slowly, “That we’re not giving up anything.”

The blue ranger laughs again. It’s an oddly nice sound, considering how not-nice the source is. “Don't you think we should ask the one with the gem too, oh almighty leader?” 

“Yeah, thanks but no thanks.” Yangyang states before anyone can reply in his place. This is getting ridiculous. “I enjoy being part of the good guys.”

The blue ranger sighs and is that disappointment Yangyang hears in his voice? “Have it your way, then. Ringer, they’re all yours.”

With that, he simply walks off, which only serves to agitate Jaemin further.

“I thought you’d never say that. I’m going to make lord Spegg see how powerful I am,” the monster cackles. The reptilians spring to life like one, surrounding them within seconds. Jaemin manages to roll under their legs, escaping the barricade and trying to go after the blue ranger but he ends up being attacked by Ringer instead.

Ringer is quite a sight. Yangyang didn’t have the chance to take a good look at him while the blue ranger was here, too entranced by the ranger himself. Now, though. When Jaemin manages to fling the monster over two of the reptilians Yangyang was trying to fight, it’s kind of hard to miss him. Ringer looks vaguely humanoid, with long, heavy limbs and boxing gloves, with a boxing mask a little askew on his head. From what Yangyang can see through it, he can tell this isn't a monster that’s about to win any beauty contests.

“You really weren’t kidding about the magical fighting skills,” Yangyang grunts as he high-kicks a reptilian off Donghyuck. 

“Nope,” Donghyuck laughs, immediately distracted by another reptilian trying to lunge at him.

“Just wait until the urge to make stupid puns hits you,” Renjun grumbles, just as Jaemin shouts,  _ You sure pack a punch but I’ll have you in a knock-down before you know what’s hit you! _

Yangyang’s confusion must show even with his face shield. Donghyuck shrugs, when he sends a reptilian flying into the nearest utility pole. “Comes with the territory.”

With the reptilians all scattered, Renjun and Donghyuck, trailed by a slightly confused Yangyang, jump into Jaemin’s fight. Ringer manages to hold up under their combined strength quite well, though, right until Renjun shouts,  _ Blasters!!! _

Like one, Donghyuck, Jaemin and Renjun all produce weapons which look like fancy water guns, honestly. Yangyang stares in confusion for about half a second, before Jaemin looks around to find him standing to the side.

“The holster on your right hip,” he says, voice gentle and Yangyang startles. Figures. 

They really should’ve given him a suit training before throwing him in battle. But no time like the present, right?

One well aimed shot, later, from each of their blasters, and Ringer is writhing on the ground. Yangyang can’t stop watching the wreckage, his boxing gloves tearing apart and his mask cracking. Then there’s a hand around his wrist and he’s being tugged the other way around, just in time for the explosion.

Jaemin’s fingers trail from his wrist to his palm, until they’re holding hands. Yangyang only realizes he’s been shaking when the tremors stop. Jaemin’s warmth feels nice, even through two layers of magical spandex.

*

Taeyong sends Ten to fetch them again that afternoon. They get celebratory cookies for their first monster defeated as a team and while they fight over who gets the last chocolate one, Taeyong upgrades their morphers with communication devices.

“Now that we have a name for our evil overlord it would be a good idea to have a way to contact each other if anything arises,” Ten explains, as he hands each of them their morphers back.

“For emergencies only,” Taeyong states sternly as he hands back each of their bracelets. “I don’t want to hear you arranging movie nights on them or whatever.”

“I wouldn’t mind,” Ten laughs. “But do keep in mind that the frequency is one and the same. You contact someone, we all hear it.”

“Right.” Renjun mutters. “I’ll make sure to keep all our secret night raves away from adult ears.”

Taeyoung rolls his eyes to the sound of Donghyuck’s unbridled laughter. “You know, Renjun,” he says when he calms down finally. “Sometimes I forget that this whole stick-up-your-butt attitude isn’t your only personal trait.”

“What can I say, I’m full of surprises,” Renjun grins, and, wow. It’s not like Yangyang hasn’t seen Renjun smile before (yesterday, when he was laughing at Jaemin in one of their breaks) but this seems new, somehow.

Yangyang doesn’t sense him moving but a second later, Jaemin is there, his hand looping around Yangyang’s. He’s giggling too, Yangyang could feel it in the gentle shake of his body even if he couldn’t hear the sound. He feels the way Jaemin’s grip is a little too tight on his elbow, too.

“Celebrations aside, though,” Ten starts, a half eaten cookie in his mouth. “We need to talk about this blue ranger of yours.”

“If he was ours we wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place,” Donghyuck mutters and Yangyang can feel Jaemin’s attention snap to him.

“Whatever the case is,” Taeyong says, voice placating, “Ten is right. We need to talk about the ranger. You don’t simply start morphing after bonding to a gem. I’m really concerned that they seem to be on the wrong side of this battle.”

“If it means anything,” Yangyang begins, pausing when all eyes are suddenly on him. The fact that he’s still the new guy has never felt more real. “I don’t think they’re out to actually hurt us? If their own gem is as strong as ours are, and it probably is, they could have attacked us at any point, both times we met them.”

Jaemin nods, his grip around Yangyang’s elbow tensing once again. “They seem to keep it to words mostly. They had every opportunity to join the battle each time but they only sicced monsters on us instead. It’s like they want the gem but they don’t want to actually fight us to get it.”

“Is there a possibility they’re wary because there are more of us?” Donghyuck asks, curious.

Renjun shakes his head. “Highly doubt that. They had reptilians with them both times and even a monster today. We’re not that experienced yet. If they had joined the fight we would’ve most likely lost.”

“Makes you wonder just who the monsters we’re fighting are, doesn’t it?” Ten says. He seems to be talking to all of them but his eyes are trained on Taeyong.

Taeyong shoots him a warning glare, then his face is back to impassive. “Only time will tell. This seems like your run of the mill, I-want-to-rule-the-universe kind of universe but you never know with this type of aliens. Anyway,” he claps his hands, disappearing into the cave, only to come back with four neatly wrapped boxes. He hands each of them one, and when Yangyang inspects closer, it smells like freshly baked cookies. “Good job today. I’m proud of you. Now go home, rest, prepare for tomorrow.”

“And don’t forget to let me know if any secret raves are happening!” Ten exclaims cheerily. He gets another glare, but there is no heat behind this one.

*

There are no monsters around for the next few days and Yangyang tries his best to use the time to finally settle in. Walking to school with Jeno turns into a routine but that’s about the only time he sees him alone. Lunch is all five of them with Jaemin occupying Yangyang’s attention more often than not and after school, Jeno has clubs,errands to run or dates with Donghyuck to go on. 

After getting lost for real on the first day of their deal, Yangyang decides he can be selfish for once, and keeps getting lost on purpose until Jeno gives up on him. They return to the original arrangement of Jeno picking him up at home and that’s that. The extra ten minutes of Jeno time are a nice way to start the day, Yangyang decides.

It’s almost a week later when Donghyuck walks him home again. The unfortunate side effect of his morning walks with Jeno are that everyone thinks he’s a complete lost cause with directions now, so someone has to walk with him after school too. Usually Jaemin just drives him home which is pretty sweet and not just because he saves himself half an hour of walking.

But today Jaemin and Renjun have Astronomy club duties so Donghyuck is the one that drives Yangyang home.

“Have you decided who’s picking you up for movie night this weekend?” he asks as he pulls out of the parking lot.

Yangyang shrugs. “Jaemin kind of demanded that he drives me. It’s not like I have much choice anyway? I had promised Jeno to keep him company on the commute but that was before his thing came up. He’s a really busy guy, isn’t he?”

“He is,” Donghyuck mutters, voice full of fondness. “He has a ton of school things and he helps his family a lot.”

“I was looking forward to spending more time with him, honestly,” Yangyang admits.

He regrets it immediately, when Donghyuck’s knowing eyes are on him in a heartbeat. “Did you now?”

“I mean,” Yangyang sputters. “I barely see him excluding the school walks? He is kind of my first friend here...”

“Sure, whatever you say,” Donghyuck replies, almost teasing. After a few moments of Yangyang failing to come up with a reply, he goes on, “You know, you and Jaemin have been getting pretty cozy lately.”

“Uh,” is Yangyang’s intelligent answer. He’d try to deny it, except. It’s kind of obvious. There are some fights that simply can’t be won. “I think he’s just using me as a distraction from Renjun?”

“In a way,” Donghyuck agrees and Yangyang wonders why this doesn’t make him feel as bad as it probably should. “Jaemin is not the type to just jerk someone around, though.”

Yangyang can’t seem to find the right words for a moment. In the end, he goes with, 

“I’m sorry,”

“Hey,” Donghyuck murmurs, reaching to tip Yangyang’s chin up. It has the right effect: Yangyang can’t help but meet his eyes now. “I’m dating Jeno, remember? There’s no use pining for someone unreachable. I’m happy Jaemin is finally figuring it out.”

It feels like the spider web just tightens further. When Yangyang claimed he wants to be Spiderman as a kid, this is not exactly what he meant. 

“So you’re okay with it?” He asks in a quiet voice.

Donghyuck’s laughter is quiet but pleased, and Yangyang feels something warm curl up in his gut. “I’m not just okay with it. I plan on helping you get your man.”

Oh.

*

“So Jaemin wants a skirted suit too,” Yangyang repeats, just to make sure he’s getting everything right.

“Mm,” Donghyuck agrees as he’s scrolling through a random online shop. “I think he wanted it out of spite at first, but he keeps glancing at it when we’re morphed.”

There are more than one explanations for that. Yangyang isn’t willing to make his spider web more complicated, though.

More than that, the thought of witnessing Jaemin strut around in a skirt makes Yangyang’s heart stutter in ways he’s not sure are healthy.

“I don’t think any of these would work,” Yangyang points out when Donghyuck scrolls past the third hot pink leather skirt. “It’s not going to be part of his outfit unless Taeyong programs it to be. I don’t plan on trying to make it seem like that.”

“I guess. We could… Wait.” Donghyuck scrambles to close the page they’re on, then opens a new one. “What about that?”

It’s ridiculous. Yangyang wants to burst out laughing but also, Jaemin, in his suit, in that? The thought of it makes these little fireworks go off in his heart. 

“Yeah,” Yangyang agrees. “That’s perfect.”

*

_ I have something for you _

Yangyang presses the send button before he can talk himself out of it. The bag is sitting on his bed to the right. It’s just a stupid shopping bag, goddamn it. Why does it feel like its judging him?

Jaemin’s text comes only a few minutes later but even those few minutes are enough to have Yangyang questioning his life choices.

_ omg!!! for me?? give meeeeee _

Of course. Of course Jaemin is excited and now there is no way Yangyang is getting out of this. But that was the whole point, wasn’t it? He lets Donghyuck’s advice replay in his mind.  _ You got this, Liu Yangyang.  _

Jaemin flat out refuses to let him come over due to the fact that he is the one that owns a car where Yangyang would have to spend close to an hour in public transport. It’s a good thing, on one hand - no people to awkwardly run into, less chances to ruin his gift. But waiting for Jaemin leaves him jittery and, more importantly, with nothing there to distract him.

Good thing Jaemin is fast.

*

“Hey,” Jaemin beams when Yangyang opens the door for him.

He can’t help but laugh. “You’re really fast when you have something to gain.”

“Nonsense,” Jaemin pouts, still at the door even though Yangyang left more than enough space for him to come in. “We should absolutely hang out outside school or ranger duties more.”

It’s a good thing Mrs Kim is out now. Jaemin’s voice isn’t very loud and she probably wouldn’t have heard the ranger remark even if she was here but Yangyang doesn’t want to take chances, even if the smallest ones. Well, that and the fact that Mrs Kim would have a world of things to say, all along the lines of Yangyang is making friends! Do you want something to eat. Or five?

The last part is probably exaggerated but, well. Yangyang wouldn’t put it past her. 

(And of course, his mom would hear about it right after. Considering she knows about his inclinations towards the male part of humankind, that’s definitely not a conversation he wants to have. Ever.)

“School and ranger things are the majority of our lives, though,” Yangyang counters, outloud. "And did we not agree to a movie night at Donghyuck's on Friday?"

_ "Friday,"  _ Jaemin stresses, like the fact offends him personally. "A whole eternity."

Yangyang rolls his eyes, ignoring the warmth spreading across his chest. There's a good chance Jaemin says these things just to say them. You never know with him.

Well. Yangyang will, very soon.

*

"I'm gonna need you to morph," he starts, to Jaemin's utter confusion. 

"Morph? But why?"

Yangyang shrugs. "Part of your present. Don’t question it.”

Jaemin activates his morpher, the confused expression never leaving his face. It’s the last thing Yangyang sees before Jaemin mutters  _ Bubbles! _ and the pink ranger takes his place. Yangyang takes a deep breath, then goes to take the bag out of his nightstand drawer. It’s where he ended up shoving it when Jaemin announced he’s almost here. One can never be too cautious with Jaemin. 

“I would tell you to close your eyes but I feel like with the face shield it’s a little useless,” Yangyang laughs, clutching the gift bag in his hands. 

“I can turn around?” Jaemin says softly, inclining his head. It never fails to amaze Yangyang, how all of them suddenly acquire these much more physical mannerisms when morphed. You can’t gouge reaction from my face? Here, let me help you with excessive body language instead.

Yangyang takes a deep breath. “It’s fine.”

He slowly loosens his grip on the bag, acutely aware of Jaemin’s eyes following his every action. The excessive body language is nowhere to be seen when Yangyang finally pulls a tutu out, the tulle fluffling out almost immediately. It’s not as soft as it looks - good tulle can be quite expensive as he and Donghyuck learned quite fast. It made them question the decision to sew it themselves rather than buy a ready-made tutu but in the end, Yangyang is proud of the result. He knows Donghyuck is, too. What the tutu lacks in texture it definitely makes up for in appearance. 

Right now, Yangyang is not sure if the face shield is a blessing or a curse.

There’s an almost imperceptible  _ Oh,  _ but otherwise Jaemin is quiet, still as a rock.

It’s a good thing they went with sticky straps because instead of going through the awkward experience of making Jaemin put it on, now Yangyang can just wrap it around his waist himself. The suit feels nothing like skin at all and this is not the point, but still, Yangyang can feel his heart kick up into his throat. When he moves away to face Jaemin, he decides the face shield is definitely a blessing this time.

“I was told you really wanted a suit like Hyuck’s,” Yangyang blurts out, when the silence stretches out for too long. “I thought you’d look great in one.”

And he does, so much. Yangyang can’t stop staring. Donghyuck really did choose the perfect color. It almost looks like a part of the suit itself. 

Jaemin demorphs, and the magic is somewhat ruined. The tutu looks a little ridiculous now, fastened around his giant hoodie, matching nothing at all. But Yangyang now has the privilege of seeing Jaemin’s face now and there’s something in there that’s so raw it takes his breath away more than the tutu ever did.

A few moments pass like that, with them just staring at each other. Then Jaemin takes the two steps separating them, presses closer and Yangyang finds firsthand that kissing Na Jaemin in real life is nothing like his poor brain could ever conjure.

It’s only when Jaemin wraps his hands around his waist, prompting Yangyang to do the same, for real this time, that he snaps out of the daze long enough to  _ think. _ The tutu bunches up in his palms where he’s clutching at Jaemin’s hoodie and staying quiet just feels wrong.

“Donghyuck helped me with this,” Yangyang whispers against Jaemin’s lips. 

He kind of expects to be pushed back, at least some  _ surprise, _ but what he gets instead is a soft, “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he confirms. If anything, Jaemin’s fingers squeeze tighter. “He helped me pick out the tulle, then sew it.”

Jaemin groans, burying his face in Yangyang’s shoulder. “You sewed it? Together?”

“Yeah,” Yangyang repeats. He remembers vividly, the look in Donghyuck’s eyes while they were doing it. He wonders what does it mean, that Jaemin hasn’t moved away still, that talking about Donghyuck only seems to heighten the tension in the air. “Does it bother you?”

Finally, Jaemin straightens up, palms running up from Yangyang’s sides to his shoulders. “Not really. Not at all. Does it bother you?”

Yangyang tries to think about it. Does it? Jaemin has his own skeletons, just like Yangyang does. Is he really in a place to judge?

In the end, the answer is clear as day.

“Not at all, no.”

Jaemin’s smile is impossibly soft and when they’re kissing again, Yangyang finds he doesn’t mind all that much when Donghyuck’s face flashes through his mind. He has a feeling it’s the same for Jaemin.


	3. Ancient storm, power ranger red!

Renjun can’t seem to stop drumming his fingers on the railing of his front porch. Jaemin was supposed to be here five minutes ago. It’s not even that Renjun is impatient (even though he absolutely is). It’s just that, when Jaemin texted almost there, five minutes ago, Renjun expected him to be, well. Almost here. 

So here he is now, out on his porch, in his nicest jacket which happens to be way too light for the rain pouring outside. It still feels stupid, dressing up for something like this but Renjun didn’t exactly grow up surrounded by friends and the ones he has now are friends by fate, first and foremost. It doesn’t feel like it and Jaemin certainly doesn’t like him just because he’s also a power ranger but the truth is the same. Neither Yangyang nor Donghyuck chose to be his friends willingly. Maybe they would have, maybe not. There is no way to know. All Renjun does know is that they are linked now, in a way, and he’s supposed to be their leader. It’s only fair that he feels the need to prove himself, even if through appearance alone.

(It doesn’t help that Donghyuck has that down to an artform - looking great. Being sweet and also incredibly annoying. And very, very taken.)

As Renjun shivers outside, rain hitting the roof like bullets, he tries to consider his options. Getting back inside could probably be a thing, too, if it didn’t involve the whole process of taking his shoes off, taking his jacket off, then having to put them right back on when Jaemin does actually come. Which, with Renjun’s luck, would be right as he gets inside. 

Finally, Jaemin’s car turns the corner and Renjun feels his nerves calm a little. 

He’s not too pleased to find Yangyang has already taken the front seat but it’s far from surprising. It had been a bit of a shock, finding Jaemin and Yangyang holding hands at lunch two days ago. Jaemin is a touchy person in general, to Renjun’s misfortune but that particular type of touching was… hard to miss. They never really said anything, though, so Renjun thinks it’s fair to at least try not to assume. 

Whatever the case is with them, it’s probably good for Jaemin. He finally gave up on his misguided obsession with Renjun. It’s just Renjun’s luck that it happened right at the time when was starting to enjoy Jaemin’s company.

They’re cute, though. That he can’t deny, even if he wanted to.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Jaemin says when Renjun hurries into the car, shielding himself from the rain with little success. “Yangyang’s babysitter insisted we take like, half her kitchen. That woman lives to make us fat, I swear.”

“She’s not my babysitter,” Yangyang mutters, resigned, like this is a conversation they’ve had multiple times before. “She just looks after the house while my parents move here too, because no one trusts me with an entire household.”

The opportunity is too good to resist.

“So, a babysitter,” Renjun grins. The reaction is immediate: Jaemin bursts out laughing at the same time Yangyang gives him a look of utter betrayal.

Eventually, Yangyang just sighs. “I walked right into this one, didn’t I?”

“Kinda,” Jaemin agrees easily. The conversation dies off after that and Renjun is content to let it. The weather makes him nervous for some reason, and his t-rex is humming in his brain, restless. 

Donghyuck’s house isn’t that long of a drive from Renjun’s. Nothing in this town is a long drive from anywhere, really. It’s maybe ten minutes tops until they get there, when something heavy lands on the hood of Jaemin’s car.

Yangyang yelps in his seat and Jaemin curses wildly, tires screeching to a halt on the wet asphalt. The car slides a little but it comes to a halt just before it can hit the safety barrier. When Renjun finally manages to look up, he finds it’s not  _ something  _ that landed on Jaemin’s hood. It’s  _ someone. _

He’s standing stock still on Jaemin’s hood, arms spread. A long, dark coat swishing in the wind outside is most of the attire Renjun can see. It’s lined in electric blue and when he follows the lines up to the man’s face, he finds that half of it is hidden behind an ugly, iron half-mask. It does nothing to ease the paralyzing power of his cold, empty eyes.

It probably shouldn’t have taken Renjun this long to notice the whirlwinds of rain stemming from each of this man’s palms.

“So this is why he’s taking so long,” the man’s voice booms, strangely amused. The spell is finally broken, and the three of them scramble for their morphers, finally dawning on them that they’re being  _ attacked. _

“Oh no, I don’t think so,” the man laughs. He bends down and reaches forward, his hand smashing through Jaemin’s windshield like it’s nothing. It’s Yangyang’s collar he reaches for, and Renjun only has time to scream  _ No!  _ before Yangyang is yanked outside, thrown on the wet grass. He’s coughing and oh god, are those drops of blood on the glass? The man, no, the  _ monster, _ jumps off the car, then rips out Yangyang’s morpher from him with a gleeful laugh. 

“Fucking  _ bubbles,” _ Renjun grits, for once wishing the morphing process to go faster. Jaemin is doing the same on the front seat. When they finally get out of the car the rain and the wind no longer mean anything to them.

Jaemin is the first one out and closest to the monster, so he’s noticed first. His eyes soften, almost kind. In that single moment, he looks so human it’s hard to imagine he ripped someone out of a car not two minutes ago.

But he did.

“You’re gonna pay,” Renjun grinds out, the monster’s eyes snapping to him in a heartbeat. The softness is gone - Renjun didn’t think this man could get scarier. He was wrong.

“Ah, red,” the monster laughs, but it rings empty, mean. “Always in the right, aren’t you? The almighty leader.”

On the monster’s other side, Jaemin is firing off his blaster but the monster just diverts a small whirlwind of rain his way. Absent, like he’s swatting away an annoying fly. Renjun reaches for his blaster as well. Turns out, he’s a second too late.

A second whirlwind of rain crashes in him, flinging him off the ground. He only realizes he’s flying through the road when he crashes into an inconveniently placed tree. The suit protects him from most of the impact but the power of the blast has him demorphing on his way to the ground. Renjun can feel the uneven, wet parts of the tree’s trunk dig into his back and he coughs helplessly. He reaches for his blaster anyway but when he forces his eyes open, there is no sign of any violent whirlwinds anywhere. In fact, the storm has calmed down as a whole and all that’s left on the road are them. Yangyang, passed out on the other side of the road and Renjun about to, right on this tree. Jaemin is looking between them frantically and Renjun allows himself a sigh of relief. At least one of them is okay.

The last thing he hears before he, too, passes out is Jaemin yelling, “Taeyong, I have never meant this more in my life. This is an emergency.” 

*

“Please,” Taeyong says, voice more desperate than Renjun has ever heard him, “please try to describe this thing that attacked you.”

“I told you,” Jaemin groans. “All I remember was that he looked pretty human and controlled the rain somehow. And that he almost killed my boyfriend and Renjun.”

Yangyang is still unconscious, but not too badly hurt from what Renjun can gather. It’s a good thing, considering those drops of blood on the windshield - Renjun is going to think about those for a while. From the gentle hum of his t-rex he figures they’re on the island, even though he has no recollection of getting there.

He’s been awake for a few minutes now, listening to this same conversation repeated over and over again.

Eventually, he forces his eyes open. “His coat was lined blue,” he croaks.

Jaemin and Taeyong’s eyes immediately snap to him and Jaemin rushes over, gently pawing at his forehead, then the bandages wrapped around his torso. It hurts a little but Renjun doesn't plan on letting Jaemin know that. Having him close feels nice.

Taeyong is just staring at him, expression unreadable. “Blue?”

“Yeah,” Renjun confirms. “He had a mask covering half his face, too. He seemed strangely fond of Jaemin and very unhappy with me. I don’t think either of us has met him before, though. He called me  _ Red.” _

“You look like you know something,” Jaemin points out, fingers absently carding through Renjun’s hair. He’s going to tell him to stop. He will. Just… a little later.

Taeyong heaves a sigh and Renjun is happy for the distraction. “I guess I do. Let’s wait for Ten to bring Donghyuck and for Yangyang to wake up. This is a conversation that we should have as a team.”

“What will happen to Yangyang,” Renjun blurts. It’s the elephant in the room, or maybe just one of many. “That guy took his gem.”

“He is still a ranger,” Taeyong says slowly, stressing every word. “We will just have to get his gem back. Somehow.”

Somehow. Well, that’s reassuring.

*

Ten doesn’t take much longer and soon enough, Donghyuck’s fretting is added to the mix. Renjun feels a pang of… something when Donghyuck’s first reaction is to hug both of them. Jaemin first, then, more carefully, Renjun. His eyes are so wide and expressive when he looks at Jaemin, Renjun wonders how can anyone miss it. He also wonders if he’ll ever get to experience that look directed at himself. Preferably without the homewrecking consequences.

“What about Yangyang?” Donghyuck insists, as soon as Taeyong emerges from the cave again.

“He’s not hurt bad, I think he’s just sleeping off the shock,” Taeyong frowns. “I don’t think he’s been bonded to his gem much longer than you have but that kind of connection is a hard thing to lose. He has some scratches here and there but it looks like Doyoung was careful not to inflict any lasting damage.”

Everyone goes silent. Taeyong gives them a confused look, before his words catch up to him and he grimaces.

“You would’ve had to tell them sooner or later,” Ten soothes, a hand on Taeyong’s shoulder.

Taeyong heaves yet another sigh. It seems to be the theme for tonight. “I do know him, yes. I’ve met him… quite a lot of times before.”

“And?” Jaemin prompts, earning himself a glare from Ten.

“He’s dangerous.” Taeyong states. He falls quiet again but before someone else can butt in, he goes on, “I don’t really want to get into it right now but I can tell you that: him being with this lord Spegg, or whatever evil dumbass has decided to take over the world this time, explains the blue ranger’s… existence. Not so much his reluctance to attack you, though. Especially with how Doyoung himself treated you.”

“We are all alive,” Renjun points out. “I have a feeling if he wanted us gone we wouldn’t be here right now.”

Ten nods. “You have to admit, he has a point.”

“I don’t know,” Taeyong says, resigned. “You never know with him. I kind of want to keep you all on the island for now, though. At least until we figure out how to get Yangyang’s gem back.”

The suggestion is met with a chorus of  _ No, No way! _ and  _ No thank you-s.  _ Taeyong looks unsettled but not surprised, so Renjun goes to elaborate. “I get the danger and we’ll do our best to be safer in general but we have lives down there. Families. What kind of heroes would we be if we hid on this floating island instead?”

Now Taeyong seems more conflicted than anything. Ten nudges him, a small smile playing on his lips. “The gems wouldn’t just choose anyone.”

It’s that moment that Yangyang chooses to stir awake, effectively ruining the mellow mood. Renjun was getting a little tired of it anyway.

*

Ten escorts them each home, in Donghyuck’s car. It’s a tight fit with four growing teenagers and one full grown, even if rather small, adult. Ten announces he’s the one driving and Yangyang gets the front seat by virtue of having one too many scratches from his trip through the windshield.

Renjun’s back still hurts from the tree, too but he grits his teeth each time Ten hits a bump and makes sure that his face shows nothing.

It’s not that bad anyway. He’s squished between Donghyuck and Jaemin and Donghyuck’s shoulders are surprisingly comfy. Jaemin keeps rubbing little circles on his arm and that kind of feels nice too, even if Renjun doesn’t have the heart to tell him that’s exactly where one of the bruises is.

He glances at Yangyang humming to himself on the front seat, occasionally glancing back and smiling at them. It’s a reminder of why all the feelings floating in Renjun’s gut are plain wrong. He can’t help the flash of Jeno’s smiling face either and it almost makes it worse. 

Maybe it’s the pain, maybe it’s how warm Donghyuck’s skin where Renjun is leaning against his neck, but right now, he’s willing to let himself have this one. He can be selfish just this one time.

*

“You should probably think of a place you can use as a… base, of some sort,” Ten suggests as he helps Yangyang out of the car. He lives closest to the forest out of all of them, with Jaemin and Donghyuck being on the other side of town entirely and Renjun even farther. “Something public and safe,” Ten adds, “so Taeyong won’t spend every waking second worrying.”

“I’m fine with whatever you choose,” Yangyang tells them, peeking through the open car door. “It’s not like I know the area very well. I trust you.”

Once they make sure he’s home safe, Ten starts the car again. Renjun can’t help but notice that neither Donghyuck nor Jaemin took the chance to take Yangyang’s seat.

“We could use Taeil’s café,” Jaemin suggests. He’s no longer tracing circles, instead having his hand rest on Renjun’s instead. “We’re all familiar with it opens to a square, in case a fight has to be taken outside to protect civilians.”

“Mm, yeah,” Donghyuck agrees. “Actually, Taeil was the one who gave me the dino gem, so it’s kind of fitting.” 

He shifts on the seat, sneaking a hand behind Renjun to essentially tip him down into his lap. His other hand is there to serve as a pillow, though, so the overall effect is that Renjun no longer has his back pressed into the seat. He hopes the relief isn’t too evident on his face.

Jaemin whips around, eyes wide and a little betrayed. “He gave you the gem? I didn’t know that.”

“It was this year, for my birthday,” Donghyuck explains. “He said it makes him think of me. Isn’t it funny?”

“It really is,” Ten mutters from the driver’s seat. He glances back at them curiously. “Do you happen to know what his full name is?”

“Moon Taeil,” Jaemin replies. “Why, do you know him?”

Ten shrugs. “Not personally. I think I’ve heard of him, though. We may share some mutual friends.”

It’s hard to think of Ten as someone with his own life, outside of being their sort-of-mentor slash bodyguard along with Taeyong. It’s only natural that he has one yet still, Renjun finds the concept a bit odd.

“Anyway,” Donghyuck starts again, “I think Taeil’s café is a great idea. We wouldn’t have to worry about getting kicked out for no drinks either. What do you think, leader?”

Donghyuck’s voice is amused but far from teasing and something twists in Renjun’s gut. _ Leader.  _ It’s a thing now, for real.

“I haven’t been there a lot,” he admits, voice slightly muffled by Donghyuck’s sleeve. “From what I remember though, it does seem like a nice place. I guess meeting there would scratch movie nights from the agenda but less chance to get ambushed on empty roads at night?”

“We would’ve waged a war over who picks the movie anyway,” Jaemin laughs. “Bonding time would be a lot easier if we’re stuffed with sugar.”

“See, I’d definitely agree with that,” Donghyuck says solemnly, “if I didn’t know for a fact you’d drown whatever sugar intake Taeil forces on you in that bitter hell liquid you can’t stop drinking.”

“Just because you’re too weak for coffee-” Jaemin begins the rest of the sentence trailing off into white noise as Renjun tunes them out. It’s mindless banter, nothing important to decide right now and Donghyuck is so comfortable. God, he’s so tired.

That’s probably why he misses the way Jaemin and Donghyuck’s play-fight fades into silence, disturbed only by the gentle rumble of the car. He can feel Jaemin’s fingers tracing circles on that same spot again, though. It still hurts but Renjun lets the pain ground him, allows the pattern to lull him to sleep.

He has no recollection of getting home at all, but when he wakes up the next day, there’s a creeping feeling of coldness that has nothing to do with the three blankets he’s huddled under.

*

Sunday shapes up to be a weird day. 

Renjun usually likes to do all the assignments he’s procrastinated over the rest of the weekend then but he did everything on Friday already. He wasn’t sure how the movie night at Donghyuck’s would go so he decided to be prepared.

Then the night at Donghyuck’s was a disaster and now it’s Sunday, and Renjun has no idea what to do.

He spends the majority of the morning staring at his ceiling, body still not quite functional after being slammed against a tree. 

By noon, counting the cracks starts to get boring. Renjun reluctantly reaches for his phone, squinting against the brightness when he unlocks it. He’s never been too invested in social media and that gets boring even quicker than staring at his ceiling. 

There is still a whole afternoon to go.

He considers texting one of the others, except Yangyang is probably still resting and Jaemin and Donghyuck… being alone with either of them, without the excuse of being recently hurt, makes him feel like he’s committing a crime.

It’s a little sad that his only friends seem to be ones made by necessity but he’s had a lot of time to come to terms with not being a social butterfly.

He’s absently scrolling through his contact list when a name catches his eyes. He wouldn’t exactly call Lee Jeno a friend (even if Jeno did, not too long ago) but he figures, why not. They’ve hung out a few times before, mostly for school purposes, but Jeno can be surprisingly good company. He takes well to Renjun’s snark, unlike most people and unlike most people, he’d made it clear that he wouldn’t mind hanging out with Renjun outside of school.

Aside from the (decreasingly, thank god) awkward lunches recently, the last time Renjun hung out with Jeno was two weeks ago, for a collaboration science project between both classes. 

Two weeks aren’t that much, Renjun figures, and he has the recent tentative friendship going on for him anyway.

(But most importantly: seeing Jeno outside of school feels a little less like a crime than seeing Donghyuck, for some reason.)

*

Joke’s on him, because while Jeno enthusiastically agrees to meet, he shows up with Donghyuck in tow.

“I’m sorry,” Jeno starts, sheepish, while Donghyuck tries and fails not to look hurt behind him. “We were together so I asked him to drive me but he wouldn’t leave when he found out who I’m actually meeting.”

Renjun blinks at them. “Did I ruin your date? I’m so sorry, you should’ve said-”

“You didn’t ruin anything,” Donghyuck interrupts, sliding into the booth first. “I am a little hurt you didn’t reach out to me, though. Especially since you wanted to meet at Taeil’s.”

Tendons of guilt crawl up Renjun’s insides. It had been the only thing he could think of when Jeno asked where. Now that he considers the whole picture, it does seem like an asshole move of him. All Renjun ever wanted was to somehow erase the squishy feelings the drive home last night brings him every time he thinks about it. He’d hoped spending time with Donghyuck’s boyfriend would help with the reality check but alas. Here they are.

Thankfully, Jeno saves him from having to come up with an actual answer. “Stop being mean,” he chides. "This is a public cafe, just because you're friends with the owner doesn't mean you own the place."

“You’re supposed to be on my side,” Donghyuck pouts. It’s so exaggerated and annoying and adorable, Renjun wants to die. Jeno seems to be sharing the sentiment, suddenly finding the winter special menu card immensely interesting.

It serves as a not-so-gentle reminder of what Renjun often likes to forget: he’s the intruder, even if he isn’t.

*

“How did your movie night go last night?” Jeno asks, after they’ve gotten their fancy winter drinks. 

Taeil doesn’t seem to be working today and Renjun finds himself grateful for it. There’s only so much Donghyuck pampering he can take in a single day. Especially after the previous night.

Which brings them back to, “Uh,” he says, unsure of how to phrase it. “It could’ve gone better?”

“They were attacked on the way to my house,” Donghyuck says without preamble. Jeno looks like someone just pulled the chair from under his ass. “Robbery,” Donghyuck clarifies gently. “Apparently they took that pretty gem Yangyang always wears.”

“What,” Jeno yelps, a little too loud. He gives the rest of the café a concerned glance but the place is almost empty. No one pays them any mind. “That sounds scary.” he says in the end, voice a lot more reasonable in volume. 

“It was,” Renjun admits. He may not be able to tell Jeno the full story - how terrifying it had been flying backwards, slamming into that tree, then hitting the ground defenceless.

Watching Yangyang a few metres away, unconscious. Watching Jaemin stand against the thing that caused all of it, alone.

Donghyuck’s palm gently travels up, covering Renjun’s own. His expression doesn’t betray much but Renjun can see through him anyway: the fear, the anger. The helplessness.

Jeno has a faraway look, like he’s not quite with them anymore. “Is Yangyang okay?” 

“Kind of,” Renjun says. “The attacker went for him first, kind of really violently, so he was unconscious for a while.”

Before Jeno can ask the question because he’s about to, Donghyuck interrupts. “Let’s just say Jaemin’s car is going to be out of commission for a while.”

Jeno’s lips form a thin line, expression so grim Renjun wonders if they’ve said too much. In the end, Jeno shakes his head, glancing at his phone. He fiddles with it for a few seconds, then absently twirls it on the table.

“I can’t believe this, this town was supposed to be safe,” he mutters. 

Donghyuck laughs, the moment broken. Both his hands are back over the table now, and Renjun kind of misses the contact. 

“This town hasn’t been safe since those scaly monsters started showing up.”

Jeno looks up from the phone, a slight smile on his lips. “Yeah, but now we have the power rangers to keep us safe, right?”

Next to him, Donghyuck freezes, expression caught somewhere between amused and horrified. Renjun suspects he doesn’t look much different.

“Yeah,” he says eventually. “Yeah, we do.”

He’s saved by trying to think of a way of getting out of this situation when Jeno’s phone buzzes.

“Ugh, sorry,” he mutters, glancing between the phone and Renjun and Donghyuck. “I know this is like, the worst time, but my mom wants me home like, now. I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Donghyuck hurries to say, waving Jeno off. “It’s a miracle your mom is even home long enough to ask for you, you can’t miss this.”

“Yeah,” Jeno says. He doesn’t meet their eyes, which strikes Renjun as a little odd but hey, Jeno isn’t exactly the king of eye contact. “I’m really sorry,” he repeats, and, wow, Renjun is absolutely willing to take that statement back. The expression on Jeno’s face when he looks at each of them in the eye is intense, for lack of a better word.

Regretful.

“It really is fine,” Renjun laughs. It’s not that deep. “Go home, your mom is waiting.”

“Yeah,” Jeno mumbles. He pauses on the way out of the café, gives them one last wave with that same, regretful look before he’s out the door.

Donghyuck’s eyes follow him through the glass windows until he turns the corner and disappears out of sight.

“We should probably wrap up too,” Donghyuck sighs. “You were both supposed to be resting but now that you’re not, we might as well go check up on Yangyang. And maybe fetch Jaemin and figure out how to get the green gem back.”

Alone time with Donghyuck. And Jaemin. And Yangyang. Exactly the opposite of what Renjun needs right now. Now that Jeno is no longer there to serve as a distraction, Donghyuck’s closeness messes with Renjun’s brain in ways he doesn’t appreciate at all.

“I kind of want to check up on Yangyang too,” he admits, because he does. Out of all the things Donghyuck suggested, this is not one that Renjun can be selfish about. Forget the gem, now each time Renjun closes his eyes, the image of Yangyang lying on the grass, unconscious is burned behind his eyelids. He knows, in his head, that Yangyang is okay. Or at least will be. Renjun was there when Taeyong pronounced them both relatively fine but a part of him is still out there on that road, terrified. Helpless. 

Honestly, he doubts seeing Yangyang conscious and alive will help much, at least not in the long run, but that does nothing to help the craving.

Donghyuck rests his cheek on one hand. “I sense a  _ but.”  _

“However,” Renjun stresses, resulting in an eyeroll from Donghyuck, “I don’t think I’m up for the logistics talk yet. I kind of want to… forget about it, I think? At least for today.”

“That’s okay,” Donghyuck smiles. He straightens up, just to wrap Renjun’s palms in his again. “I wasn’t there so I can’t know what you’re going through but I can imagine. How about I take you home and go check up on Yangyang myself? I’ll text you how he’s doing.”

And just when you think things can’t get any worse. 

“Thank you,” Renjun says eventually. Donghyuck just squeezes his hands, still smiling.

*

Having a car is a great thing and when Donghyuck texts him, Renjun has yet to move from the couch he flopped on as soon as he came home.

_ he’s fine!! well, as fine as one can be _

_ mrs Kim complained that he has yet to leave the bed when she let me in haha _

_ also apparently Jaemin has been here since this morning, i caught them cuddling it’s so adorable _

_ i told them you said hi _

Renjun stares at his phone for a bit, wondering what the appropriate response is. Part of him is reeling at the confirmation of Jaemin and Yangyang being a thing. The other, currently more vocal part, is having a tiny meltdown at Donghyuck being, well, adorable. 

In the end, he types a,  _ thanks ♥.  _ He considers it, then deletes the heart. Then types it again. On the fifth try, he forces himself to send the  _ thanks, _ sans a heart.

It feels more in character for a leader, instead of a lovesick idiot.

The couch is nice and the house is warm yet somehow, twenty minutes later Renjun ends up in their backyard, legs propped up on a rickety deck chair it’s way too cold for. The autumn wind biting at his exposed skin feels nice, too.

There’s a gust of wind, a little stronger than what Renjun was getting used to, and he shivers in the deck chair. Maybe it’s time to finally move back inside?

When he looks up, there’s a shadow looming just above his shoulder. Renjun jumps up and away from the deck chair, muscle memory arranging his limbs in a fighting stance.

The blue ranger stares back at him, unmoving. Or at least Renjun thinks they’re staring. He can’t actually see their eyes.

“Please don’t morph,” the blue ranger says. They sound pleading, almost. “Or do but don’t fight me? I come with peace, I swear.”

Renjun doesn’t allow himself to relax. “How do I know you’re not here to take advantage of me being weakened and steal my gem?”

“So it’s true, then,” the ranger sighs. “You were attacked. And the green gem was taken?”

“Shouldn’t you know that already, being with the villains and all? Isn’t that what you wanted to do all this time?” Renjun asks, eyes narrowed.

The blue ranger heaves another sigh. “If I wanted to take your gems by force I would’ve at least tried.”

_ That  _ finally makes Renjun relax a little. He’s no longer in attack mode but he forces himself to remain alert. The blue ranger is with the villains here, after all. “Wait,” he says, suddenly. “Did you just expect to scary-talk us into giving you Yangyang’s gem?”

“I didn’t wanna fight you, okay?” The blue ranger whines and- that takes a moment to sink in. The blue ranger  _ whining. _

It’s all so damn weird. “Why are you here?” Renjun asks carefully. “If you’re not here to fight me or to rob me of my gem, then why are you here?”

“I...” the ranger trails off. It takes them a while and Renjun waits, tapping his foot on the grass. “You’re their leader, right?” Thank god they don’t wait for a reply because Renjun isn’t sure he could give one. “I need help, I think.”

“And why should I help you?” Renjun deadpans, arms crossed. Everything is so  _ surreal. _

“Please?” the ranger asks in a tiny, distorted voice. It sounds desperate but also so familiar, even if Renjun can’t quite place it.

“Fine,” he says in the end. “I can’t promise I can help but I can try.”

“Thank you,” the blue ranger breathes, dropping into the deck chair Renjun was just occupying. It makes a warning noise both of them ignore. “You see,” the ranger starts, “I went with them… because he’s family. It felt right? But then they wanted me to hurt you and I really don’t want that.”

“But why?” Renjun can’t help but ask. “We don’t mean anything to you. You don’t know us.”

The blue ranger looks up, staring in Renjun’s general direction. With the face shield, it’s impossible to tell what exactly their eyes are trained on. “You do mean something to me, even if you don’t know it. Maybe not the pink one but he’s kind of cute I guess?”

Renjun blinks. “Uh.”

“What I mean is,” the blue ranger hurries to explain, “I don’t want to actually hurt you, you know? And now you’re hurt by someone I care about. He says all these things like rangers can’t be trusted and you’d all just turn your backs on me but-”

“We wouldn’t,” Renjun says softly. It makes so much more sense now. “We’re not friends right now but even still, I don’t think any of us would intentionally hurt you, not unprompted at least. Definitely not in the way I think you mean.”

The blue ranger doesn’t react for a long moment. Then, in the blink of an eye, they’re in front of Renjun. “Thank you,” he says, just as soft.

“Wait,” Renjun calls out when they turn to leave. They pause, glancing back. “Can you tell me who you are?”

They go rigid for half a second, then there’s a soft laugh. It sounds so damn familiar, even through the distortion of the face shield. “I think I might. Not now, though. Thank you, Renjun. You’re a great leader.”

With that, the blue ranger is gone just as suddenly as they showed up. Renjun is left staring at the empty backyard, wondering.

What just happened, really? And why do the blue ranger’s words echo in his mind still?

It’s only much later that he realizes this: somewhere during the conversation, Renjun had stopped considering the blue ranger as a threat at all.

*

“Unless one of them brings the gem down, which would be pretty bad for us,” Ten starts, a grim expression on his face, “there is no other way to get the green gem back. We have to attack them at their base.”

It’s Monday already and they can’t exactly afford more days to be wasted. Right after school, Ten had taken them through their brand new portal to the island, just a few streets down from school.

Donghyuck sighs. “That sounds like a terrible idea.”

“It is,” Taeyong agrees quietly. “But it’s also the only chance we have. I’ve managed to locate their ship hovering just outside of Earth’s atmosphere. They move it occasionally but it’s more or less in the same place the rest of the time.”

"It's going to be hard and scary, I'm not going to lie," Ten says. "But if the gem remains in enemy hands, we're all screwed. Us and the whole town, probably the world too."

Jaemin sighs. "We really are superheroes now, aren't we? Doesn't that mean it shouldn't feel this terrifying?"

“We’re all terrified,” Taeyong says with a smile. “It’s not a matter of whether you feel the fear. It’s what you do about it.”

“So we’re going then,” Donghyuck says, determination pouring out of him in waves.

“Not all of you,” Taeyong corrects gently. “It’s too dangerous for Yangyang to go and someone needs to stay here in case of an emergency.”

“I think Jaemin should stay,” Renjun blurts out. If he’s being honest, he wants all of them to stay but he’s not arrogant enough to believe he can go ahead and infiltrate an evil, alien ship on his own.

Even though it sounds awesome.

Jaemin looks betrayed more than anything, but before he can say something, Donghyuck nods. “You’re the closest to Yangyang out of all of us. No offence, babe.” 

The last bit is aimed at Yangyang and within seconds, Renjun becomes witness to a great sight: Liu Yangyang blushing. It’s great.

Aside from Renjun’s annoying, scattered emotions, though, there’s one more part of this plan they have yet to clear.

“Okay,” he says, “But how would we  _ get there?” _

Their ranger suits are pretty great but Renjun doubts even they are capable of flying out the atmosphere.

“Ah,” Ten grins, all eyes on him within seconds. “That’s the cool part. You get to meet your zords.”

*

So, apparently magical spandex is not all there is to the power rangers. 

“You’re trying to tell me,” Yangyang starts slowly, “that all these oddly shaped mountains are actually giant robotic dinosaurs?”

Taeyong grimaces. “That’s one way to put it, I guess. Each of your dinosaur spirits has a corresponding zord. When you bond to your gem, the zord awakens and goes in search for you. They usually end up here because they can sense we’re allies or because it was the first place you visited after you bonded. Are you trying to tell me none of you noticed the increasing number of mountains on this island?”

He is, of course, ignored.

“You mean to tell me,” Donghyuck screeches, “that all this time I could’ve just randomly had a giant robotic pterodactyl as a goddamn roommate?”

“Yeah,” Yangyang chokes. “Imagine a velociraptor running after your plane.”

“Okay, first of all,” Ten says, eyes narrowed. “Zords can fly. It’s like a fancy, battle spaceship, really. Why do you think we’d send you in space on something that can’t fly?”

“Who knows,” Donghyuck shrugs.

Ten only narrows his eyes further. _ “And second,  _ we’re not actually sure when you bonded with your gems. It’s not just a matter of _ ooh, I’m the chosen special snowflake.  _ You have to prove yourself to the gem. You have to deserve it.”

Renjun has long since learned to block out the gentle humming in his brain but he allows himself to listen this one time.  _ What did you see in me? _

It feels a little ridiculous, talking to the dinosaur spirit inhabiting his brain. But the humming turns even gentle, almost… reassuring. Proud.

It’s eerily quiet for a few long moments and when Renjun looks up, the others are wearing what he imagines his expression looks like. 

Ten and Taeyong have both disappeared mysteriously which, just as well. This feels too private for mentor eyes anyway,

*

“I can’t believe I’m a glorified taxi now,” Donghyuck grumbles when Jaemin helps himself to his CD collection. Renjun and Yangyang have the pleasure of taking the backseat. It’s probably the better option despite the upgrade of personal space the front seat can offer. Donghyuck’s heater isn’t working properly and the weather outside has been getting steadily colder for weeks now. At least Yangyang and Renjun can just get close together, share body heat while awkwardly trying not to touch.

On second thought, Renjun would gladly take that front seat.

“Well,” Jaemin laughs, when he finally settles on some awful top ten song. “My car is unavailable so someone has to drive us.”

“Or you could walk,” Donghyuck stresses, slapping Jaemin’s hands away when he tries to turn up the volume. “I hear it’s healthy. Runs less chance of me murdering you, too.” 

The song gets into its even more annoying chorus. Without thinking, Renjun burrows into Yangyang, attempting to block out the song with his jacket. Really, only reason Renjun knows it in the first place is because whenever he ventures out of the comfort of his own player, that goddamn song plays at least five times. sometimes within the same hour.

He doesn’t notice the position he’s in (or when Yangyang’s hand found its way around his shoulders for that matter) until both Donghyuck and Jaemin turn to stare at him.

“What,” Renjun mumbles, now determined not to move on principle. Fuck his racing heart.

“Nothing,” Jaemin shrugs. “You’re just really cute. Makes me wanna rewind, actually-”

“Don’t you dare,” Donghyuck and Renjun yelp at the same time, lunging for the CD player. Donghyuck gets to it first, being in the driver’s seat, and he changes the song immediately.

The new one is slower, softer. It sounds nice and in theory, Renjun no longer has a reason to keep leaning on Yangyang’s shoulder.

He doesn’t move away. Donghyuck’s heater is broken after all. It’s totally justified.

*

Taeyong upgraded their communicators with what is essentially a manual for the zords.  _ This is all information they’ll just give you once you use them for the first time, _ he’d said.  _ But it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. _

“Piloting this thing looks more like an elaborate, interpretative dance,” Donghyuck points out. “Like, we probably have to learn choreography or whatever.”

He dropped Renjun off last and then just followed him inside, under the pretense of training.

_ It really is about training,  _ Renjun reminds himself sternly. 

He shrugs. “It makes sense, I guess. From what Taeyong says, it looks like power rangers have been a thing for a long time. I’d imagine the average superhero fifty years ago would be slightly confused with a console full of buttons. Using your own body and strength to control the zords sounds a lot more believable than medieval fighting robots.”

Donghyuck frowns in turn. “That’s… awfully logical, actually. I hate it.”

“Of course,” Renjun laughs. “King of skirted suits, am I right?”

“My skirt is awesome, thank you very much,” Donghyuck huffs, flipping an imaginary lock of hair. “And I look great in it, too.”

“That you do,” Renjun agrees without thinking. Too late, the words replay in his mind. The silence has already stretched out, awkward. Well, on Renjun’s side. Donghyuck is smiling.

The moment is broken when his phone buzzes on the carpeted floor. Donghyuck ignores it until it buzzes again. And again. And again.

“Ugh,” he mutters. When he finally picks up the thing, his expression softens within seconds. “Hey, would you mind if Jeno came over? I promise we’ll try our best not to turn you into the third wheel.”

“Sure,” Renjun laughs. “To both.”

Even if he highly doubts he’d be anything but a third wheel. In his own home. 

Ah well.

(It occurs to him later, when he’s home alone and staring at his ceiling. Donghyuck could’ve just left. He could ditch Renjun and go meet with Jeno, especially since it seemed like an emergency. And yet.)

*

“I’m sorry to crash your party.” Jeno grins sheepishly, as soon as Renjun opens the door for him. “I brought bribes?” He lifts up a bag labeled Starbucks, which means he made the trip to the single Starbucks in their town, on the other side of it.

“You… really didn’t have to,” Renjun says slowly, even as he takes the bag. Who says no to free Starbucks? “And you’re not crashing anything, what the hell.”

“Still,” Jeno shrugs. He looks around curiously as they walk up the stairs and into Renjun’s room. The staircase is tiny and cramped, just like the whole house, but the walls are lined with pictures of Renjun’s family from back home. “You look happy,” Jeno laughs, gesturing to a three-year-old Renjun wrapped in a bear themed blanket, frowning up at the camera.

“Shut up,” he says on instinct but he can feel himself smiling despite that. “I don’t even remember what happened before that picture but my mom loves it.”

Jeno pauses, which makes Renjun pause too. His fingers form a square, like he’s imagining Renjun’s face in a picture. Then the picture moves to tiny, grumpy Renjun. “Yeah, I can see why.”

“Shut up,” Renjun repeats, full on laughing now. “My mom took it the hardest when we moved, so she made sure to cover every single wall with pictures from back home.”

Jeno stays quiet at that. Not smiling, no expression at all. Renjun remembers what Donghyuck said back in the café.  _ It’s a miracle your mom is even home long enough to ask for you, you can’t miss this. _

He’s about to apologize, even though he’s not sure what exactly for, when Donghyuck meets them at the top of the stairs. He has his hands on his hips, the look of an incredibly disappointed parent on his face.

“I can hear you having fun without me. This is unacceptable.”

“Mm, I was just admiring Renjun’s modeling abilities,” Jeno says conspiratorially. The blank expression is gone like it was never there and for a moment, Renjun is convinced he imagined the last few seconds.

“Oh my god, yes,” Donghyuck breathes. “He’s adorable, isn’t he? I just wanna squish his cheeks-”

“Need I remind you,” Renjun interrupts before his face actually catches fire. “That you’re in my home and I have the authority to kick you out at any given moment?”

“Aw, but I even brought you fancy hot chocolate!” Jeno whines. 

"You two deserve each other." Renjun grits, definitely-not-running-away into his room. Even if he was, though, it would've been useless because Donghyuck and Jeno's strangely synced laughter follows him, along with the assholes themselves. 

“Why thank you,” Donghyuck says, draping himself over Jeno like a koala. He plants a big, wet smooch on Jeno’s cheek too, as if it wasn’t bad enough already. Jeno pretends he hates it but the dumb grin he’s sporting can probably be seen from space.

So much for not third-wheeling.

*

It’s not that bad, in the end. To their credit, both Jeno and Donghyuck go out of their way to not exclude Renjun, even if their conversations are littered with subtle touches and tiny smiles not meant for outside people.

Somehow, they manage to not make him feel like an outside person either.

After an intense game of snakes and ladders which results in Donghyuck flipping the board with everything on it, they decide to take a break.

“I feel like this is a weird thing to ask, considering I’ve been in your home for the better part of today,” Donghyuck says, watching the upturned board with disdain, “but where is your bathroom?”

“Down the hall, to the left,” Renjun replies absently, picking the counters scattered all over his bedroom. “It’s right next to a dingy white door which leads to the closet. Don’t go in there.”

Donghyuck flips him off as he gets out of the room. Renjun waits until he’s at a safe distance from them before he allows himself to laugh.

When he turns back to Jeno, he’s smiling at him, gentle and knowing.

“You like him, don’t you?”

In a single moment, Renjun feels like an unwilling participant in one of those ice bucket videos. “What do you mean,” he says, aiming for amused but falling just short of desperate.

Jeno laughs. “You know what I mean. Sometimes you look at him like he’s the most precious thing. I can’t help but agree, honestly.”

A million excuses sit on the tip of Renjun’s tongue and all of them feel like ash in his throat. 

“I’m… sorry,” is what he ends up saying aloud. “I didn’t mean to, I just-”

“I don’t mind,” Jeno says, eyebrows scrunched up in concern. “That’s not why I mentioned it. Hyuck is amazing and you are too. You would look great together.”

Forget the ice bucket video. Renjun feels like he’s been thrown in a whole alternate universe. 

“But, uh. Aren’t you two a thing?”

“Yes,” Jeno says slowly, like he’s talking to a child.

Renjun narrows his eyes. "Aren't you worried I'd try to break you up or something?" 

Jeno blinks at him. "Will you?" 

"No." 

"Then no," Jeno shrugs, like it’s the easiest thing in the world.

Maybe it is. Renjun doesn’t make an effort to keep the conversation going, but the words ring in his head until Donghyuck returns from the bathroom.

He narrows his eyes at them. “What did I miss?”

“Nothing important,” Jeno beams. Just like that, whatever mood was there is broken. “Renjun was saying how annoying you are.”

Donghyuck’s face can’t seem to decide if it’s shock or betrayal it wants to display and Renjun has a feeling his own is doing a similar thing.

“Why am I dating you again?” Donghyuck sighs in the end.

Jeno shrugs. “Because I’m awesome?”

Donghyuck rolls his eyes. “Occasionally.”

Renjun watches the exchange in silence. It feels like an appropriate moment for a witty remark but no matter how many times he racks his brain for one, he comes up with one thing only: Jeno is right. Both for Donghyuck and for himself.

*

They schedule the raid for a Friday afternoon. They can’t exactly use the  _ I’m actually a superhero _ excuse to get out of school and they can’t afford much time to waste. Renjun’s stomach twists in knots each time he thinks back to the last Friday arrangement they had.

“Alright,” Taeyong says, expression unreadable as he watches Renjun and Donghyuck go through the basic moves for piloting the zords one last time. “You’re as ready as you’ll ever be.”

“You’re really shit at reassurance, you know that?” Jaemin mutters. He has his arms crossed, taking turns glaring at Taeyong and Ten, then at Donghyuck and Renjun. 

“I’m not in the business of false hopes,” Taeyong replies, voice colder than Renjun has ever heard it before. Then he turns back to them, and his expression softens. “But I do believe in you. With all my heart.”

Jaemin huffs but it doesn’t look like he takes it to heart. They’re all nervous. Renjun is terrified. With the training yesterday, little as it was, it never managed to feel  _ real. _ That he’ll be going in space on a giant steel pterodactyl, right into a ship full of monsters. It makes him reconsider his relationship with aliens, just a little.

They’ll have to deal, though. That’s what superheroes do, right?

Taeyong is the first one to break the silence. “I designed something for you,” he says, handing Renjun and Donghyuck each a small grey device. It looks like a mix between the communicator mode of their morphers and a walkie-talkie. Renjun looks it over curiously. “I’ve familiarized it with gem energy and in theory, it’s supposed to locate other gems, kind of like a radar. It should help you find your way through the ship easier.” 

“Let’s go through the plan one last time,” Ten says, impatient. Out of all of them, he was the one who looked the least worried but this close to take off, even his nerves are starting to show.

“We take the ptera zord to lord Spegg’s ship, leave it below where it’s least likely to have security surveillance, then go in as quiet as possible.”

Taeyong nods. “Remember, try your best not to get in a fight. They’ll have the upper hand there.”

“Plan B,” Renjun says, “is to have t-rex zord on standby in case we need to leave in a hurry and the ptera zord is unavailable. Also, back up.”

Ten nods, satisfied. “Okay, now time to actually call the zords. In a way, they’re part of the spirits that inhabit your thoughts so you just have to call them here.”

“Like a pet?” Jaemin asks curiously.

“Like a friend,” Taeyong corrects, not unkind. “They might be made of steel but they have the dinosaur spirit just like you do. They might be bound to the same gem you are but at the end of the day, they choose to be your ally. They can choose not to.”

Jaemin glances at the vaguely triceratops-shaped mountain in the distances. Renjun is a bit surprised he can even tell the shape is of a triceratops. Just a few days ago, the mountains scattered around the island didn’t look like anything at all to him.

“I don’t know about you but I sure hope the ptera zord chooses to be a friend,” Donghyuck mumbles.

He closes his eyes, fists clenched tight at his sides. A few moments later, the ground rumbles beneath their feet. In the distance, the pterodactyl shaped mountain shakes, an avalanche of rocks cascading down the sides. The ptera zord flies out from the rubble, shiny steel glinting in the sun. With the bright yellow lines running down its wings, it almost looks like the sun itself.

It helps that it’s easily the size of Renjun’s house.

The ptera zord just flies in a circle for a few minutes, before it heads in their direction, landing a considerable distance from them. Even still, when it bends down its head easily reaches the area they’re standing in. The zord uses that advantage to bump Donghyuck with the tip of its beak. Donghyuck stumbles, broken out of his out of his concentration.

Everyone is silent when Donghyuck turns, and his eyes land on the ptera zord’s steel eyes blinking at him.

Even the tip of his beak is half the size of Donghyuck’s entire body but somehow, he doesn’t look scared at all. 

“Hey there,” he says, smiling softly. He reaches up but he manages to touch anything, the ptera zord butts its head into his hand instead. Donghyuck laughs, surprised and the ptera zord does it again, right before it straightens up and flies off, landing again a little further.

“That was really adorable,” Yangyang says after a long moment of silence. “But now I can’t help but imagine Jaemin attempting to pet a triceratops.”

“Hey,” Jaemin whines, and it tips off a commotion Renjun doesn’t have the brain space to take part in. 

He shuts them off, closes his eyes. The voice is there, humming gently and Renjun tries calling out to it.  _ A friend,  _ Taeyong said.

_ Will you help me? _

The ground shakes again and Renjun opens his eyes just in time to see the t-rex emerging from his own mountain. It’s a magnificent thing - even bigger than the ptera zord, lined in red just like the ptera zord is covered in yellow.

The t-rex zord doesn’t go for a dramatic entrance like the ptera zord did, instead just going over to settle next to it on the grass. 

Renjun is glad, honestly. He doesn’t think he could do what Donghyuck did.

“So now we just… jump?” Donghyuck asks, finally tearing his eyes from the two zords.

Taeyong nods. “There are no fancy doors or anything. You sort of… pass through them. If they accept you. They have no reason not to, of course.”

“Of course.” Renjun mumbles. “Alright. Time to get this show on the road.”

“Hey,” Jaemin grins, gleeful. “You’re finally giving into the cheesy phrases urge!”

It startles a laugh out of Donghyuck, and soon enough, everyone joins in.

Renjun rolls his eyes, suppressing a grin of his own.

_ “Bubbles!” _

He does his best to keep his voice steady, the nerves barely shining through. He can do this. He’s the leader and he’ll lead Donghyuck and the zords in and out of that ship, along with Yangyang’s gem. 

It’s going to be hard and it’s going to be terrible but they’re going to get the job done.

They’re the goddamn power rangers for a reason.

*

Piloting a zord turns out to be both harder and easier than Renjun thought. 

The ptera zord had kindly materialized a second pilot station when Renjun followed Donghyuck into the cockpit. Passing straight through the steel was an experience, though.

“Taeyong was right,” Donghyuck says, swaying gently with each of the zord’s movements. “This feels like muscle memory, even though we hardly learned the moves well enough for it to be actual muscle memory. Look how in sync we are!”

“Yeah,” is all Renjun says. Weirdly enough, the technicalities of flying a zord were the easier part. The harder one is this: staring through the zord’s eyes, at the vast expanse of space around them.

Space. They’re in space now. The rest of the astronomy club would probably kill to be in his place.

“We’re getting closer,” Donghyuck points out. 

They can see lord Spegg’s ship already, a big and ugly hunk of metal. It looks like it has seen better days but never a mop, with stray pieces of metal hanging from every other corner. The ptera zord swoops lower, trying its best to stay out of range for any potential surveillance until the last possible moment. Once they’re directly under the ship, the ptera zord soars up, floating below, not more than a few metres of distance between it and the ship’s underside. Like they hoped, there’s a small latch right above the ptera zord’s right wing.

“Don’t say it,” Donghyuck warns as they get down from the pilot station.

Renjun grins back, even if Donghyuck won’t be able to see it through the face shield. “It’s showtime.”

Donghyuck groans but it does the job, after all. They’re about to enter the lion’s den. Having Donghyuck thinking about how annoying Renjun is is better than having him think about how they’re very likely heading for their doom.

“Alright,” Donghyuck says a moment later. “Let’s do this.”

*

The inside of the ship isn’t much better than the outside. All the walls look grey and dirty and the maze of corridors is giving Renjun a headache. He just hopes they manage to find their way back.

The device Taeyong gave them gives a gentle buzz. When Renjun picks it up, there’s a light blinking to their left, moving every so often. It seems to be… running around? 

He shows it to Donghyuck, who only nods. They follow the blinking light through the corridors, mindful of any stray monsters or even reptilians. 

There are none. It’s like the ship is deserted, even if they know for a fact it’s not.

That is, until they get almost to the blinking light.

At least a dozen reptilians are in there, along with two monsters. The dim lighting of the room isn’t enough to make out any specifics but it looks like one of them is shaped like a chair?

Donghyuck halts a few steps away from the open door the monsters are in. They haven’t been noticed yet, so they take a moment to survey the scene. 

It’s a fight - a very unfair one, it seems. It looks like the target is one, even if Renjun can’t see who it is. The reptilians and the monsters are all viciously attacking, there blasts bursting through the reptilian dogpile that’s forming ever so often, reptilians flung to the walls. Among the general noise of the fight, the word  _ traitor  _ makes its way to Renjun’s ears.

There’s a sinking feeling in his gut and it’s only amplified when they finally manage to catch a glimpse of a blue glove flinging a reptilian into one of the monsters.

Donghyuck takes a sharp breath.

“We have to help them,” Renjun hisses. 

Donghyuck whips back. Renjun doesn’t need to see the shock on his face to know it’s there.

“Please,” he says, quieter. “Trust me.”

The blue ranger has never helped them in any way, shape or form before. Donghyuck has every right to say no and he looks like he’s about to. What he does instead is nod.

They get the element of surprise which is great, except the blue ranger is surprised as well, which distracts them enough for one of the monsters to throw them into a wall. Renjun is there in a heartbeat, blocking the monster’s second blow. 

They’re not going to last much longer. The blue ranger is heaving already and it looks like the fight has been going on for a while. They weren’t supposed to get into a battle.

“Donghyuck,” Renjun calls. He only gets a grunt in response, Donghyuck being too busy fighting off reptilians, but it’s good enough. “We need to get out. Now.”

“Ugh,” Donghyuck says, glancing back enough to try and gauge Renjun’s expression through the face shield. Whatever he finds, it seems to do the job. “I’ll hold them off, take the blue asshole and go.”

The blue ranger huffs but doesn’t protest much when Renjun offers them a hand. They have to fight off a pair of reptilians trying to block their way but that’s easy enough. Soon, they’re off in the corridors again, Renjun sprinting with the blue ranger on his heels. He only hopes it’s in the direction of the ptera zord.

A second set of footsteps thumps behind them and then more noise, commotion. It’s good to know that Donghyuck is coming too but Renjun prays to all there is above that they don’t have to get into a second battle.

They halt to a stop in the place where Renjun thinks they came through and is happy to see the latch is really there. They didn’t get lost.

He’s not as happy to see Doyoung standing on it.

Renjun’s muscles spasm with the memory of hitting that tree and for a few dizzying seconds, the fear is paralyzing. But Doyoung isn’t looking at him.

“So this is the path you’ve chosen,” Doyoung says to the blue ranger, who’s still leaning on Renjun’s shoulder, heaving. 

“I’m sorry,” is all they say. The voice sounds somewhat less distorted now, for some reason. Renjun’s brain races to put the pieces together, the feeling of recognition eating him up from the inside. 

“Very well, then,” Doyoung says, gentler than Renjun thought was possible for someone like him. 

He raises both his hands, aiming them in Renjun and the blue ranger’s general direction with a wane smile.

Donghyuck skids to a halt next to them just in time for the blast.

*

Oddly enough, the blast lands them right on the ptera zord. It gladly accepts them inside, blue ranger in tow. Renjun foregoes the pilot station in favor of staying with the blue ranger who seems worse for the wear, now that they don’t have to fight for their life.

Donghyuck gives them a long look, then turns to Renjun. “Where are we going?”

“The island,” Renjun says without a second thought. 

“Renjun,” Donghyuck starts, not unkindly. “They’re enemy, remember?”

The blue ranger groans, curling in on themselves.

Renjun turns to look at him, hoping the desperation bubbling in him will somehow show through the face shield. “Please,” he says quietly. “I know I’m asking you for the second time tonight but please, please trust me.”

Once again, Donghyuck pauses. The dilemma he’s fighting is palpable in the air but in the end, he sighs, then leans forward. The ptera zord soars through space, taking them back home, finally.

*

They land a little far from where the others are gathered but the ptera zord extends a wing, allowing them to materialize right in front of Taeyong’s cave.

“Where is the- what the hell?” Jaemin exclaims, as soon as Renjun lands with the blue ranger leaning heavily on him.

Donghyuck doesn’t stay and wait for them, instead demorphing right away, only to take a seat on one of the stones next to Yangyang. Now that he no longer has the face shield, the disapproval is clear on his face.

Taeyong frowns. “What about the green gem?”

“I think the device you gave us located his gem first and there was a fight,” Renjun starts. Except, he doesn’t get to finish.

The blue ranger wobbles over to Yangyang, ignoring the way both Jaemin and Donghyuck immediately go in defence mode. The blue ranger reaches into the holster on their belt which Renjun only now realizes holds no actual blaster. Instead, they take something out. Something metal and shiny, almost like-

The morpher snaps back on Yangyang’s wrist with a small explosion of green light. It seems like this was the very last of the blue ranger’s energy because they stumble backwards, right into a shocked Jaemin’s arms.

The blue suit falls apart and finally, Renjun figures out why the voice felt so familiar.

“I’m sorry,” Jeno says, with a tired smile that’s nothing like his usual one. “I really didn’t mean to make everything so dramatic.”

It’s all he manages to get out before he goes lax in Jaemin’s arms. There are a few moments of stunned silence before all hell breaks loose.


	4. Ancient storm, power ranger yellow!

In theory, Donghyuck knows things could've been a lot worse. They're all mostly unharmed and the green dino gem is back in Yangyang’s possession. So yes, it could've been so much worse. 

But looking at Jeno,  _ his _ Jeno, being fretted over by Taeyong, not to mention  _ unconscious, _ just sits wrong in his stomach.

The worry is there, niggling at his every bone because Jeno is hurt but the more overwhelming feeling waging a war in his emotions is something else entirely.

It feels a lot like betrayal.

He’s lying in the grass, propped up against the ptera zord’s beak. It hasn’t gone back into its mountain yet, unlike the t-rex which headed back as soon as they landed on the island.

“Hey,” Yangyang says, sitting in the grass next to him. “How are you doing?”

Donghyuck rolls his eyes. “I just found out my boyfriend has been trying to destroy me and my friends for a while. I’ve been better.”

“Wow, that’s dramatic,” Yangyang grins. When Donghyuck doesn’t grin back, he sighs. “You seem to be forgetting how reluctant he was to actually fight us.”

“He had the reptilians attack us more than once,” Donghyuck points out. “Why am I the only one that’s concerned about this?”

“You’re not,” Yangyang counters. “Taeyong isn’t too thrilled about it either but he’s hurt, Hyuck. And he helped us. Renjun told me you found him fighting a whole bunch of monsters.”

“They were only two plus a few reptilians,” Donghyuck frowns. The sight still makes his heart squeeze, especially knowing that it was Jeno under that blue suit there, fighting. It doesn’t have much of an effect on his current mood. “And I know he’s hurt, I’m not a monster. I’m not there fighting him now, am I? He has so many people fretting over him already.”

Like Jaemin, he thinks bitterly. Renjun he expected because of the giant Jeno-shaped soft spot he has but Jaemin? He’d been so obvious about not caring about Jeno at best and straight up disliking him at worst. And here he is now, with Jeno’s head in his lap, carding his fingers through his fringe. Donghyuck can see them, even from here.

Yangyang hums. “Does it bother you? Jaemin and Renjun being so close to him?”

Donghyuck shrugs. “Yeah, but probably not for the reasons you’re thinking of. Does it bother you?”

It’s Yangyang’s turn to shrug. “It doesn’t bother me much more than Jaemin’s thing for Renjun does.”

“You know,” Donghyuck starts, because it stings.So much. “Me and Jeno were considering asking Renjun out. Like, romantically. And there they are now, bonding. And I’m here instead because each time I look at Jeno now I imagine you unconscious and in stitches, Renjun all bruised up. Jaemin blaming himself for all of it.”

Yangyang’s hand finds Donghyuck’s and he laces their fingers together. “He wasn’t the one that attacked us, remember?”

“He knew who did,” Donghyuck sighs. It’s something that he’s been going through ever since Jeno demorphed in Jaemin’s arms. He knew. He’d gone so pale when they went out with Renjun that day, he must have known exactly what happened.

_ Maybe that’s what made him help you, _ a small voice whispers in Donghyuck’s mind but it’s too early for that. His feelings are too complicated. For now, the mess of anger and hurt seems easier.

The ptera zord moves behind them, lifting its beak first, then its whole body. It takes a few steps back, then takes off in the direction of its mountain.

“You chased my zord away,” Donghyuck pouts.

Yangyang laughs, squeezing his fingers. “I think it just didn’t want you to be lonely. Now you have me, so the ptera zord can rest.”

He cringes as he says it and Donghyuck plays along, fake-gagging in his free hand. Still, the gentle warmth spreading across his chest feels so nice.

It doesn’t make it okay. There are too many things, too much confusion. 

It certainly makes it better, though.

*

When they get back to the others, Taeyong and Ten have disappeared into the cave, taking Jeno with them.

“They say he needs a lot of rest, mostly,” Jaemin says, frowning. “Apparently he almost depleted his powers while trying to fight on the ship.”

Renjun sighs. “I wonder how long he was fighting for before we showed up.”

Donghyuck bites his lip. “Does this mean we can go for now?”

Jaemin’s eyes snap towards him like a rubber band. “I guess?”

“It’s okay,” Yangyang says, swiping some of the hair away from Jaemin’s eyes. “I’ll stay for now, we can take turns. I can just tell Mrs Kim I’m staying at a friend’s but you all have families at home, they’ll worry.”

“Ugh,” Jaemin mumbles. “I hate this.”

“Yeah, same,” Renjun says, rubbing at his eyes. It succeeds in drawing Donghyuck’s eyes to the circles under them. He looks exhausted.

“Wait, what about Jeno’s parents?” Yangyang says, expression full of concern. “Won’t they worry?”

“Jeno’s dad is gone and his mom is almost never home,” Donghyuck replies before he remembers he’s supposed to have  _ feelings  _ about this. Ah well, too late now. “I know there is someone that basically raised him and still looks after him but he never talked much about that person.”

Jaemin’s lips form a thin line. “I have a feeling that someone was Doyoung. I guess that solves the issue of relatives that would worry.”

A beat of silence follows.

It’s Donghyuck’s turn to sigh. “I’ll drive you both, come on. We’re not gonna help him by exhausting ourselves, too.”

Jaemin gives him a long look. Donghyuck meets his eyes head on. Jeno or no Jeno, it’s the sensible decision. They all need rest.

“Fine,” Jaemin concedes finally. He grabs for Yangyang’s wrist, tugging until Yangyang stumbles into him, much like Jeno did earlier. Jaemin plants a kiss on his cheek, a soft smile on his lips. “You’re gonna call me if something happens, yeah?”

“Absolutely,” Yangyang nods. He kind of looks like someone set his face on fire and Donghyuck is only a little jealous. He’s not entirely sure of who, though.

*

Renjun is silent for the entire ride from school to his house. They use the fancy new portal always now - it’s nice not to have to add an extra twenty minutes of walking in the woods to get home.

It’s only when they get to his home and Renjun is halfway out the door when he pauses, looking at the ground.

“I’m sorry,” he mutters, before he slams the door closed faster than any of them can reply. A moment later he’s inside his house already and a reply is useless, anyway.

Donghyuck spends another moment sitting there, staring at Renjun’s closed door, before he finally starts the car again.

Jaemin tolerates the silence for about two minutes after that. “You’re being kind of a dick, you know that, right?”

“Yeah,” Donghyuck rolls his eyes. “Sorry for being the only one concerned about dating the guy that tried to attack us multiple times.”

“That again?” Jaemin sighs. “You and I both know we’re the reason he never actually did attack us. And by we, I mean you.”

Maybe Jaemin has a point. Donghyuck is far from ready to admit it, though. “I don’t think you can be a trusted source on this, honestly,” he says. “You’ve always been a sucker for assholes. Now that Jeno is morally ambiguous at best, you’re all over him.”

He regrets it as soon as it comes out of his mouth. For some reason, his lips won’t form the words to apologize, though.

Jaemin runs a hand through his hair, then sighs again. “I think you already know how mean that was so I won’t hold it against you,” he says slowly. “But let me remind you of this: you like Renjun just as much as I do. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

Donghyuck has a feeling whatever comes out of his mouth next won’t be anything nice either, so he decides to shut it for once. Jaemin doesn’t deserve this. None of them do, and he’s being an asshole. 

They don’t talk for the rest of the drive, Jaemin only mumbling a goodbye when he gets off at his house.

Donghyuck spends a lot of time staring at his ceiling that night. At 3AM, he sends an,

_ i’m sorry _

Jaemin’s reply comes within seconds, like he was waiting for it.

_ i know ♥ but the others might not, you know? _

_ I know, _ Donghyuck doesn’t say. He’ll work on that too eventually.

*

Eventually turns out to be the very next morning.

_ Jeno is awake!!! _ is the text Donghyuck wakes up to. He is almost immediately bombarded by texts from Jaemin, too. Naturally, what he does is ignore all of them and open Renjun’s text thread instead.

_ we’re picking you up in half an hour, don’t ditch us _

When they do pick him up (in twenty minutes, thanks Jaemin) Renjun doesn’t look all that better compared to yesterday but he does look calmer, somehow. It’s a nice contrast to Jaemin’s constant restlessness.

Yangyang is the first one to greet them when they finally get to the island. He gives Jaemin a hug and waves to the rest.

Donghyuck can’t stop staring at Jeno.

Unlike Renjun, he looks a lot better than he did yesterday. It’s surreal seeing him now, healthier. He’s a lot more like the person that Donghyuck is dating. Less like the mysterious blue ranger.

But then again, they are the same person. It’s up to Donghyuck to decide which version to believe.

Jaemin places himself right between Jeno and Yangyang, which makes both of them smile. It’s disgusting but also adorable. Once again, Donghyuck isn’t sure who he’s jealous of.

Renjun settles on Jeno’s other side and Donghyuck uses this as the excuse that he sits on Yangyang’s other side, the farthest from Jeno he can get.

Ten gives him a curious look but doesn’t press, thankfully.

“I think,” Taeyong says, voice slow and tired, “that you owe us an explanation.”

The smile falls from Jeno’s face, replaced by something smaller, sadder.

“I’m not sure where to start,” he mutters. Donghyuck can see both Jaemin and Renjun covering each of his hands with their own. “I’m not sure if Donghyuck has told you, but I didn’t have the best luck in the family department,” he laughs bitterly. “I met Doyoung as a kid, long time ago. He was really nice, always made sure I’m fed and happy. He was like a parent, really.”

It’s so different than the image of Doyoung Donghyuck has: the terrifying monster who hurt his friends. Blasted them though a space ship’s floor. Good thing the ptera zord was right underneath.

“When he got hold of the blue gem, I wasn’t meant to bond to it,” Jeno continues, twirling the morpher on his wrist. “I don’t remember exactly how it happened but there was suddenly an unfamiliar voice in my head and Doyoung was freaking out. He said it was better if I joined him because otherwise lord Spegg would try to hurt me for the gem. That’s why I did what I did.”

“You knew I had a gem before I did,” Yangyang points out. Donghyuck remembers this: everyone staring at the gem around Yangyang’s neck at lunch, Jeno included. He’d thought Jeno just found Yangyang cute, then.

Jeno nods. “Yeah. That’s why I approached you initially.”

Yangyang seems to consider his words. “But you kept being friends with me even after I became the green ranger.”

“I enjoy spending time with you,” Jeno shrugs, like it’s the easiest thing in the world. Donghyuck’s heart flops pitifully. “You have to understand, though,” Jeno says, earnest. “Doyoung is powerful. He never misses. He could have us destroyed within seconds on that ship but instead he blew up the floor right above the zord. He wouldn’t even have to try, the reptilians and those monsters were almost there.”

“That sounds like Doyoung,” Taeyong mutters, a slight smile on his lips.

It doesn’t look like he even realized he’s said it and he startles when he looks up to find all eyes on him.

“Now that we have Jeno’s story,” Jaemin says carefully. “I think it would be fair to have yours, too.”

Taeyong closes his eyes for a few long moments, then sighs. “I guess you’re right.”

*

“I used to be a ranger,” Taeyong says later, when they’ve all gathered around him like children, eager for a goodnight fairytale. “Doyoung was in my team, too.”

The Taeyong bit doesn’t come as a surprise. They’ve all seen his morpher, dead as it is. Donghyuck wanted to ask about it quite a few times but it never seemed like the right time. 

Doyoung, though.

“Let me guess,” Renjun interjects, “red?”

Taeyong nods. “Our final fight was with Serpentina’s master at the time, he didn’t… have a name, really. He was more like a dark matter? An entity. We fought so long to keep him from finding a solid form but, of course, we failed. The fight was vicious.”

“We can take a break if you want,” Yangyang suggests gently. It’s only then that Donghyuck notices it: Taeyong is shaking.

“No,” he says immediately. The effort to calm himself is almost visible and soon enough, the tremors wracking Taeyong’s body halt to a stop. “There were nine of us but we barely made it through the battle, our powers didn’t. Doyoung passed out for a whole week. We were fighting in space, you see. And Doyoung’s… his closest people disappeared. He never quite forgave me after that.”

Jaemin asks the question they were all probably thinking of. “Was it your fault?”

The look Ten cuts him is sharp as a blade. “It was his fault as much as Yangyang and Renjun getting hurt was your fault.” 

The color drains from Jaemin’s face. Before anyone can say anything, though, Taeyong raises a placating hand. “It means it wasn’t, Jaeminnie. It wasn’t your fault now and it wasn’t my fault then. Although, at this point I’m not so sure anymore.”

“It wasn’t,” Ten stresses, not even a hint of doubt in his expression. 

Jeno glances at him curiously. “Were you also a ranger?”

That seems to startle Ten out of his thoughts. “Ah, yes,” he smiles, tracing a finger along the dead morpher on his wrist. “Our team wasn’t quite so dramatic, though. Our powers still got wiped out during the last battle but we made it out mostly unscathed and still friends.”

It makes Donghyuck think about the five of them. They’re going to have their last fight someday, too. 

“Do you still keep in contact?” 

Ten’s eyes snap to him, then his expression softens. “Not as much as I’d like to but the rest never really separated. The last I knew a few of them opened a business together in some foreign country.”

“Staying in touch is far from impossible,” Taeyong says to all of them, voice gentle. “There are no rules to what happens afterwards. It’s all up to you.”

Donghyuck can’t help but wonder where their team is going to end up.

*

“As much as I love having you all here,” Taeyong starts a while later, ignoring Ten’s grumble of  _ I don’t, _ “you should probably get home and have some real rest. All of you.” 

The conversation has mostly moved on now, everyone incredibly interested in Jeno’s experience as a villain. Donghyuck stays close to listen, even if he doesn’t exactly take part in the discussion. Gossip is always a good idea, even if Jeno’s isn’t all that good - he didn’t spend all that much on the ship, busy with school and extracurriculars like the rest of them.

Busy with Donghyuck.

He doesn’t say it explicitly but it’s there, in the glances he throws him each time he talks about being otherwise occupied, instead of taking the chance to explore the spaceship.

Right now, it’s not just Jeno sneaking glances at him, though.

“Okay, fine,” Donghyuck announces, exasperated. “I’ll drive all of you home, stop looking at me like that.”

There’s a whoop from Jaemin and Yangyang and a small smile from Renjun. Jeno looks… uncertain.

“All of you,” Donghyuck repeats, lower. Most of the others miss it but Jeno doesn’t, and neither does Renjun. Both give him looks - Jeno’s is a surprised one and Renjun’s is, well. Proud?

They all pile up in Donghyuck’s car as soon as they go through the portal and conveniently, the backseat fills up in a heartbeat. Jeno’s uncertainty is back in full force as he opens the door to the passenger seat but Donghyuck does his best to hide any emotion he could feel about it. He’s not sure what it would’ve been, anyway.

They drop off Renjun first because it’s routine at this point and on instinct, Donghyuck takes the road that takes him to Yangyang’s house first, then Jeno’s. He realizes the mistake too late but it’s okay. He’ll have Jaemin to make things less awkward.

“Actually,” Jaemin says the moment they near Yangyang’s home, “I’m gonna spend the afternoon at Yangyang’s. We haven’t had a date in forever.”

“You were literally together for the past two days,” Donghyuck points out, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

“A date, Hyuckie,” Jaemin insists, an annoying grin gracing his otherwise very pretty features. “Going army wife for you and Renjun, then for Jeno doesn’t exactly count as a date.”

Donghyuck fake-gags but doesn’t protest further. There’s nothing he can do, really. At least Jeno lives close.

*

The car gets eerily quiet once Jaemin and Yangyang pile out of it. Jeno doesn’t try to change that for the two blocks separating his and Yangyang’s houses but he does pause when Donghyuck pulls up on his driveway.

“I’m sorry,” he says eventually, eyes trained on the dashboard. “I didn’t mean to, I really didn’t. I never wanted to hurt any of you. Especially you.” It seems to take a lot of effort but he looks up to meet Donghyuck’s eyes, determination clear in them. “I would understand if you no longer wanted to be together.”

That succeeds in throwing Donghyuck off the limited balance he had. He was mad, yes, he is mad and he’d be a liar if he said the thought never crossed his mind. But listening to Jeno speak it into existence? It puts everything into perspective.

“I don’t want that,” he admits, voice quieter than he’d like it to be. “I really don’t,” he repeats, louder. “I just… need some time, yeah? I’ll be fine.” It’s only when the words leave his mouth that he realizes how true they are. He  _ will  _ be fine. He chances a small smile towards Jeno. “We’ll be fine, but I’ll need some time.”

“Okay,” Jeno says after a while. Donghyuck tries not to feel anything about the mix of hope and disbelief coloring his voice.

A beat, then Jeno is out the car. Donghyuck forces himself not to watch him disappear inside his most likely empty house.

*

_ you know what we should do, _ Jaemin texts him later that night.

_ get coffee tomorrow at taeil’s. all 5 of us _

Donghyuck stares at his phone until the screen goes black. At any other time, he would’ve jumped at the idea of getting together with everyone and Jeno. A part of him does now, too.

Jaemin’s next text message interrupts wherever that thought was going.

_ this wasn’t a question by the way _

_ you’re driving _

Donghyuck rolls his eyes, finally unlocking his phone to text back.

_ there is perfectly good public transport, you know _

Once again, Jaemin’s reply is instantaneous. 

_ yep and i’ll be using it to get home from yang2’s tonight are you proud of me _

Proud would be a bit of an exaggeration. Disbelieving is more like it. But it’s Jaemin and, at the end of the day, there are a lot of things Donghyuck is willing to swallow when it comes to Jaemin.

*

Na Jaemin is a filthy liar.

Not only he didn’t actually use any form of public transport to go home, he didn’t go home at all. Donghyuck, of course, only learns this as he’s impatiently tapping his fingers on the steering wheel, parked in front of Jaemin’s house.

“Yeah, sorry,” Jaemin’s tinny voice says over the phone. “It got late and Mrs Kim called my mom to ask her if I can just stay over. Me and Yangyang are walking to the café because the weather’s nice and Renjun is on the way already, for some reason.”

“Right,” Donghyuck says evenly.

“Look on the bright side!” Jaemin exclaims, and Donghyuck can see his smile, even from the other side of town. “You only have to go pick up Jeno.”

“...Right.” Donghyuck should’ve known, really. Jaemin and his stupid ideas.

Jaemin clears his throat. “I have to hang up now. Yangyang is almost ready and he’s so cute in this giant scarf Mrs Kim made him wear, Hyuck, you have no idea-”

“Bye, Jaemin,” Donghyuck says with a sigh, ending the call. He can definitely imagine how cute Yangyang is and his heart does a sad little flop at the thought of him and Jaemin being cute together.

Honestly, sometimes he wishes they could all just date each other. It would solve so many issues.

Not this one, though.

When Donghyuck pulls up in front of Jeno’s house, Jeno is already waiting for him, an unreadable expression on his face. When he notices that there’s no one else with Donghyuck, surprise flashes through his features but he’s quick to return to his mask of indifference.

“Hey,” Jeno says carefully. He buckles his seatbelt, then proceed to stare straight ahead.

Donghyuck squeezes his eyes shut. “Look,” he says, startling another emotion out of Jeno. This one more like apprehension? “I don’t like this,” Donghyuck admits. He’s had time to think about it on the way here. Last night, too. “I don’t like you acting like I’ll snap at you any second now - I still care about you, so much. I just need time to process things. Not long, just… some.”

Finally, the mask that was Jeno’s expression falls apart. He looks hurt, resigned but the hope mixed in there is a lot more than it was last night. Donghyuck is counting it as a win.

“I’m sorry,” Jeno ends up saying. “I know you don’t like it when I keep apologizing for the same thing but I really am. I’m just,” his voice hitches and Jeno clears his throat. “I’m scared I messed up beyond repair.”

For the first time in what feels like an eternity, Donghyuck allows himself to look at Jeno, really look at him. “You were only doing what you thought was right,” he says. He reaches to tuck a stray strand of hair behind Jeno’s ear. “I know that. I don’t like what you did but I get it. We’re okay, I promise. You didn’t mess up, we’ll get better. It’ll take a while to get back where we were but we’ll get there. I promise.”

Jeno nods, even if the hurt and resignation still there but that’s okay. Donghyuck will choose to focus on the hope for now.

*

Yangyang, Jaemin and Renjun are all there already when Donghyuck and Jeno finally arrive. Jaemin raises an eyebrow at their proximity but for once in his life, stays quiet.

Jeno slides into the seat next to Renjun and Donghyuck fights a smile at the way Renjun subtly readjusts his body to accommodate him. It’s an adorable sight. When he looks away from them, Jaemin awfully satisfied, the asshole.

“Hey, Hyuckie,” Taeil beams when Donghyuck gets up to order for him and Jeno (because of course, of course, the others have the patience of a toddler and are already huddled around cooling coffees).

“I haven’t seen you in so long,” Donghyuck beams, stepping aside to allow Taeil to come out from behind the counter and give him a hug. 

“I’ve been so busy,” Taeil whines as soon as he’s back behind the counter. “You and Jeno?” he asks. At Donghyuck’s nod, Taeil just starts on a drink without waiting for the actual order. It’s fine. Taeil has long since learned his preferences. Jeno’s, too. “I’ve been training new employees the past few days, we’ll be opening another café in the next town over.”

Donghyuck whistles. “You mean we’re not going to be the only ones blessed with your ice cream in the summer and hot chocolate in the winter?”

“Ha, ha,” Taeil says, voice flat. “I’ve been looking to expand for a while now, but an old friend reached out recently and he lives there. So it made sense.”

“I guess it does,” Donghyuck mumbles. He’s listening to the familiar sounds of Taeil preparing his chai latte when there’s a loud crash somewhere in the back.

And then, “Gramps!!! Jisung slipped on the tiles again.”

Taeil freezes, belatedly removing Donghyuck’s cup from the steamer. He carefully places it on the counter, glancing at the back with mild horror. “Uh, remember how I told you I’m training new people? I was training them in the new location but they wanted to see how my actual shop works. So...”

“Go,” Donghyuck laughs. “Gramps.” 

The look Taeil gives him is absolutely worth the ruined latte.

*

Fifteen minutes later, Donghyuck returns with a less-than-ideal latte (because we don’t waste supplies around here) and a white hot chocolate for Jeno.

“What took you so long?” Jaemin asks, the straw of his iced coffee hitting empty already. How he can drink things with ice in them in late autumn Donghyuck still has no idea.

“Taeil has new subordinates, Apparently they are younger than us and only here for the weekend. He’s supposed to be opening a new café in the next town over and I guess the future managers of that are here, too.” he grins, thinking back to the exhausted-mom expression he’d had when he came back out. “I convinced him to introduce them to us, they sound lovely.”

Renjun gives him a curious look. “Was this what the gramps scream was about earlier?” 

“Yep,” Donghyuck confirms, taking a sip of his latte. “They sound lovely.”

“Lovely,” Jeno repeats, glancing at Taeil’s still frazzled expression where he’s leaning against the counter. “That’s one word for it.”

“I think it’s hilarious, honestly,” Yangyang admits. “I don’t know this Taeil person enough to make fun of it and I feel a little bad but not enough to stop myself from laughing.”

“And that’s exactly why I like you,” Jaemin sighs dreamily. Yangyang whacks his shoulder, face on fire but it only serves to make Jaemin laugh.

It’s that moment that someone chooses to clear their throat.

When Donghyuck looks up, Taeil is standing there with a resigned expression, two kids in aprons in tow, along with one of the most beautiful human beings Donghyuck has ever laid eyes on. He’s not pretty like Jeno and Jaemin are, for example, in the way that Donghyuck wants to kiss them on rainy afternoons in front of the TV. But he  _ is  _ pretty and Donghyuck will be damned if he doesn’t enjoy the sight.

“As per Donghyuck’s request,” Taeil says, slightly uncomfortable, “I’m bringing the new members of my staff to meet you.” He sighs, then looks back at the three boys behind him. “You’re gonna see them a lot if you stick around anyway.”

“Hey, I’m Mark,” pretty boy says. The illusion is falling apart rather quick, though. Mark seems to be way too bro for Donghyuck to ever allow himself to drool over him.

“Chenle,” the other boy says. His hair looks a tad too light to be school-appropriate which means Donghyuck loves it on principle. Chenle points at the lanky kid next to him. “And this here is Jisung.”

“I can speak for myself, thanks,” Jisung grumbles, in a voice lower than Donghyuck expected it to. 

Jeno, Renjun, Yangyang and Jaemin all take turns to introduce themselves, Donghyuck following shortly after.

“There’s also Johnny," Taeil says, glancing nervously at the door every so often. “But he’s running an errand right now. Glad you all met and thank you for agreeing to babysit Chenle and Jisung on demand.”

With that, Taeil turns and leaves, completely ignoring the chorus of various levels of horrified exclamations (mostly  _ What? No! _ and  _ We don’t need a babysitter!  _ Followed by Mark’s tired  _ Yes, you do). _

“Thanks a lot, Hyuck,” Renjun says with the emptiest expression Donghyuck has seen in his life.

Ah well. The price of gossip.

*

If you ask Donghyuck, the group not-date at Taeil’s café is going great. Jaemin has rare funny moments but what’s even funnier is Yangyang dying from laughter at all of them. Donghyuck is almost certain most of the laughter at the table is them appreciating Yangyang’s laughter rather than Jaemin being actually funny.

Jeno seems to be doing better, too. His smiles look less forced, more like what they used to be. This seems to lift up Renjun’s mood as well, which makes something warm spread across Donghyuck’s chest.

So, it’s going great. Until their communicators crackle to life.

_ There’s a monster wreaking havoc downtown,  _ Taeyong’s gravely voice says.  _ It’s a few blocks down from your school. _

Renjun glances at Jeno, concerned. “Are you feeling well enough to fight?”

“Yes.” Jeno’s voice doesn’t hold even a hint of doubt. 

“Well then,” Jaemin says, a grin slowly blooming on his lips. “Let’s show that monster what a full set of rangers can do.”

*

They morph behind an abandoned building on the way, with rudely Jeno making fun of them for  _ Bubbles!  _ the entire time. His morpher doesn’t abide by the same rules their do because Doyoung was the one to design it and apparently beside being an evil overlord, Doyoung is also a tech wizard. But Jeno has a boring old  _ Ancient storm, engage! _ so Donghyuck has no doubt who’s the real winner here.

Once they arrive in the parking lot the monster is attempting to destroy, he needs a few minutes to process the sight.

Because the monster is, well, a chair.

It looks like one of the rusty metal chairs in their cafeteria, too, which in of itself is scary as hell. The seat of the chair makes up for the monster’s torso and the backrest serves as its neck, topped off with a head that looks like a magnet someone threw into the cafeteria sink, right after lunch was over. There are stray utensils sticking from every part of its face and honestly, Donghyuck doubts he’d ever set foot in the school cafeteria for this image alone.

“Oh rangers,” the thing exclaims, in a voice that is far too shrill for a chair. “I can’t wait to get my arrows on you.”

Donghyuck is too busy to figure out what exactly the monster means, because right then, a total of three reptilians are right there, in his face.

“Jaemin, please don’t give into the pun urge,” Renjun begs, flinging a reptilian in the chair monster’s general direction. It lands in its face, butt first, only managing to agitate the monster further.

Jeno uses that moment to hit it with his blaster. The monster stumbles, turning its ugly face to Jeno.

“You,” it hisses, “I heard about you. The traitor.”

Jeno flinches, the blaster clattering to the ground. He scrambles to pick it up immediately but the monster is faster, producing a huge bow out of thin air, an arrow flying in Jeno’s direction already.

“Jeno,” Donghyuck screeches but he’s too far, there’s no time-

There’s a flash of red, a yelp and a moment later, Renjun is squirming on the ground at Jeno’s feet.

There’s a single moment in which everyone is frozen, staring at Renjun. 

And then, like one, four blasters point at the chair monster, even the reptilians cowering in fear.

“Oh boy,” the chair monster squeaks, taking a hasty step backwards. “This doesn’t look good at-”

The blasters fire and the monster barely manages to duck, turning tail as soon as it realizes it can, in fact, still walk.

Jaemin is the first one to give chase, quickly followed by Jeno and then Yangyang but for a walking cafeteria chair, the monster turns out to be quite fast.

Donghyuck rushes to Renjun instead. “Hey, Renjunnie, how are you feeling? What happened? Does it hurt?”

“One by one,” Renjun wheezes. He rolls over to lie on his back, which results in a quiet crunching sound. Renjun squeezes his eyes shut. “Shit. I think that stupid chair did something to my bones.”

The rest arrive just in time for the last words. “To your bones?” Yangyang yelp, cradling his elbow like that’s going to do anything for the arrow in Renjun’s. “Oh shit. We have to take you to Taeyong, like, right now.”

“That I agree with,” Jaemin frowns. “Renjunnie, is it okay if one of us carries you?”

“What, no-” is all Renjun manages before Jeno bends down and picks him up bridal style. 

“You have two options,” Jeno says slowly, voice brooking no argument. “Either I carry you like this all the way to school and the portal or you cooperate and allow me to give you a slightly less embarrassing piggyback.”

Renjun stays frozen for a few moments. And then, “Fine. Piggyback. I hate you.”

Donghyuck can’t see it through the face shields but he has a feeling his smile is mirrored on everyone’s faces. Except for Renjun’s, of course.

*

“What the hell,” Ten says, as soon as Jeno lays Renjun down on what they’ve now dubbed the medical stone.

Renjun, on the other hand, has his face scrunched in pain, knees twitching every so often.

“How did you say the monster looked like?” Taeyong asks, gently running his fingers down Renjun’s elbow, which only makes him flinch.

“A cafeteria chair,” Donghyuck says immediately. The image is still burned behind his eyelids. It’s probably going to haunt him for a while, if he’s being honest.

“Of course,” Taeyong sighs, exasperated. “I hate punny monsters so much.” He turns back to the rest, hand resting on one of Renjun’s knees. “Apparently what this monster does is mess with your bones. It makes them deformed and weak, like you’ve spent your entire life, well. Sitting in a chair.”

“What the hell,” Renjun grits, attempting to get up and off the medical stone. Taeyong gently pushes him back down. “You mean to tell me,” Renjun starts, glaring at no one in particular, “that this thing essentially gave me bad posture?”

“Basically,” Ten shrugs. “We’ll have to think of a plan to destroy the monster because otherwise Renjun is not getting back to normal.”

“I have an idea,” Jeno says, voice uncertain. All eyes are on him within moments and Donghyuck can see him shrinking down under the attention. “It’s a weapon idea. And maybe a plan?”

“Let’s hear it then,” Taeyong smiles. “I’m open for any ideas at this point.”

*

“No,” Renjun states immediately. “Nope, not doing that.”

“It’s actually kind of brilliant,” Ten admits, grinning. “And it’s not like you have a choice.”

The idea is this: Taeyong designs weaponized canes. Doubling as blasters. They pretend the chair monster managed to get them all and attack when it least expects it.

If he has to be honest, Donghyuck doubts anyone, even chair monsters, would be that stupid.

“You’re severely overestimating the brain capabilities of these things,” Jeno laughs. “I saw with my own eyes how a cake monster repeatedly slammed itself in a door because it couldn’t figure out how the door handle worked.”

Donghyuck is torn between the discomfort of knowing that Jeno essentially cohabited with these things for a while and the sheer ridiculousness of it all.

In the end, the ridiculousness wins and he’s laughing before he can stop himself. Jeno looks awfully pleased with himself, the smile gracing his lips much closer than the old one now. Donghyuck never realized how much he’d missed it.

Jaemin clears his throat. “So the plan, then. When are we doing it?”

“As soon as I get the canes ready,” Taeyong mutters. “It shouldn’t take me long, I was working on long range blasters already so it’s not going to be hard to, uh, redecorate them?”

“Great,” Renjun grumbles from the medical stone. “Not only was I made into an old man but I get to wave around an early Bond weapon around.” He flicks a stray pebble in Yangyang’s direction, who’s closest to him. “Get off my porch, Yangyang.”

“I mean,” Donghyuck starts, careful to keep his face perfectly blank. “We could always just leave you like this. That monster didn't seem eager to come back and battle us.”

Renjun narrows his eyes at him, then throws another pebble in Yangyang’s direction. “Ugh. I guess we could do worse than battle canes.”

Donghyuck can see Taeyong suppressing a laugh as he gets inside the cave.

*

The following day is Monday and, conveniently, the monster chooses to attack right after the last bell rings.

_ “Ten is on the way with the canes,” _ Taeyong’s voice crackles through their communicators 

_ Well,  _ Donghyuck thinks when they reach the portal. Of all the things Ten could be hiding under a trench coat.

“You could’ve at least attempted not to look like a criminal,” Yangyang points out.

Ten rolls his eyes but really, Donghyuck doesn’t think he has any space to be judgy here. He opens the trench coat to reveal all five of the canes carefully lined along the inside.

“For how much of a creep you’re being,” Renjun grumbles, trying to pretend he’s not actually leaning on Jaemin for support, “you’d think something slightly less idiotic than a goddamn blaster cane.”

“Keep that up,” Ten smiles sweetly, “and I’m gonna keep my blaster canes. I hope you enjoy arthritis.”

It takes visible effort for Renjun to keep his mouth shut. Donghyuck is sure this was the intended effect in the first place.

*

Donghyuck is so sure it wouldn’t work. No one can be  _ that  _ dumb.

“Oh rangers,” the monster squeaks, halting when it sees them all hobbling around on the canes.

The  _ color-coded  _ canes. Come on.

“I don’t remember hitting everyone with my arrows,” the monster goes on, confused. This is it, Donghyuck thinks. His finger hovers over the cane blaster’s trigger. “Oh!” the chair monster exclaims finally. “The rest have been infected by the red one! My powers must be expanding! Lord Spegg will be so pleased!”

Donghyuck is close enough to hear Jeno suppressing a snort. He looks up briefly, just to slant Donghyuck an I told you! look. 

Aliens.

As per the plan, in a truly Oscar-worthy performance, Jaemin hobbles over, threateningly shaking his cane at the chair monster.

Predictably, it makes the thing laugh. It also makes it distracted enough not to notice that the others are steadily forming a circle around it. It’s all going great, until their formation is ruined by a pair of rangers, essentially dropping from the sky and on the chair monster.

_ What. _

“Dino ranger silver!” one of them exclaims, striking a pose that’s frankly ridiculous.

The second one looks slightly more hesitant but he, too, strikes a pose. “Dino ranger gold, I guess.”

Not one, but two new rangers. For a moment, Donghyuck is shocked enough to break character. 

"Someone please help me, my back hurts so much," Renjun hisses in an overly-fake old person and Donghyuck is abruptly reminded why they came to dust the stupid monster in the first place.

But now the two new rangers are in the way. There are two ways this can go. The new rangers attack the chair monster, it runs away again, they’re back to square one. Or the other, slightly scarier version - the monster somehow manages to hurt more rangers.

Both are equally inconvenient. So Donghyuck does the first thing he can think of without breaking character.

At the top of his lungs, he yells, “Get off my porch!”

The gold and silver rangers startle enough to get out of the direct shooting range for a brief moment. Thankfully, the rest of them know to use that moment to fire.

“Oh no, I’ve been deceiveeeeed,” the chair monster whines when all five of the rangers rise from their bad postures. Well, all excluding Renjun, who’s still having trouble standing straight and gold and silver, who seem too confused to move, let alone join the fight.

It’s over relatively fast. The monster explodes like a doll smashed to pieces and from the remains, a light shoots out and hits Renjun in the back. He squirms backwards, grunts in pain but when he straightens up, he no longer looks in pain.

“Oh my god, did you see that?” the silver ranger breathes, voice full of awe, “did you see that, Che-”

“Uh,” The gold ranger says, dragging the silver one away by the neck, hand on where his mouth should be. “Now that the monster is defeated, I think we’ll- go. Yeah.” 

It shouldn’t work because this is a helmet but the silver ranger seems to go quiet on instinct. It’s kind of adorable.

“No, wait,” Renjun yells after them but they’re gone just as fast as they appeared. 

Just then, a chip roughly the size of a tea saucer flies down from the sky, landing right in the rubble left from the chair monster. The pieces bubble up and grow, gluing themselves back together and growing more still.

“Hey Renjun,” Jeno says carefully, staring at the chair monster, alive, now as big as a skyscraper. “I think we have a bigger problem.” 

Renjun’s eyes snap to him annoyed, right until he notices the shadow looming over them. He looks up, pausing. Then he turns back to Jeno. “A pun, really? You’re giving in as well?”

“I’m all for bonding,” Ten’s voice says through their communicators, “but there is a giant monster attempting to literally walk all over you any second now. Call your goddamn zords.”

“It’s okay,” Donghyuck says when he notices everyone but him and Renjun has frozen in place. “Friends, remember? Just close your eyes and ask them for help.”

There isn’t much more movement now either, but there’s a different feeling in the air. Moments later, the zords rush through the sky in a cloud of smoke, racing each other to get to the monster. The ptera zord and the t-rex Donghyuck already knows but the others are quite the sight. Yangyang’s velociraptor bumps into the t-rex every so often the ptera zord occasionally flying in a circle around its tail. The triceratops is not far behind them but the stegosaurus lags behind and Donghyuck realizes he never even knew what Jeno’s spirit was.

He probably had to deal with the voice too. Donghyuck can’t help but wonder what the stegosaurus thought about fighting on the other side.

*

The others find it surprisingly easy to find their way into their zords and Donghyuck makes a mental note to complain about being the sacrificial lamb so they could look cool later.

The ptera zord no longer has the extra pilot station for Renjun and Donghyuck can’t decide if he wishes it did. Sure, the circumstances were special last time but still, it feels odd to be in the zord alone, even if their communicators are on. 

(Unfortunately, because right now Jeno and Yangyang are having a vicious pun war which they both suck at.)

Defeating an extra large chair monster is quite a bit easier than defeating it in regular size. It can’t really run away, being the size of a building and everything, and it can’t use its arrows either. Huge steel dinosaurs don’t exactly have bones the monster could mess up.

Monster destroyed, they decide to just ride the zords on the way to the island. It seems like the more logical way to go, instead of disembarking just to get back to school and the portal.

“I can’t believe the zords take a whole damn hour to get to this stupid island,” Renjun says, flopping face first on the grass once they land. “A whole hour! I thought my bones would get back to being old.”

Donghyuck raises an eyebrow. That’s an awfully Jaemin thing to say (further proven by Jaemin’s proud smile). He can’t help but wonder if Renjun and Jaemin have been spending time together while he wasn’t looking. It would be far from the first time.

“I don’t know what you thought,” Ten shrugs, staring at them in mild judgement, hands on his hips. He’s lost the trench coat, thank god. “This island is very far up and concealed by various non-natural powers. There is a reason we use portals to get down.”

“Yeah, yeah, moral of the story, no more zords to the island,” Jeno says dusting off his suit. It’s kinda useless, because he demorphs almost right away. “Hey,” he starts turning to Taeyong, who’s been mostly scanning the zords for damage so far, “do you think you can help me?”

Now, Donghyuck doesn’t hear  _ what  _ exactly Jeno needs help with, despite his best efforts but he does hear Taeyong exclaiming “Nope! No way, I want nothing to do with this, go ask Jaemin.”

Jaemin? 

Donghyuck is hard pressed to think of something that Jaemin could be better at than Taeyong. Anything, really. His curiosity is only piqued further when Jeno, slightly confused, heads for Jaemin instead. Jaemin, on the other hand, barely waits for Jeno to finish whatever he’s saying before he’s agreeing with so much enthusiasm that Donghyuck barely stops himself from simply walking over to ask.

An empty feeling crawls up his insides. Mere days ago, that’s exactly what he would’ve done.

*

Jaemin and Jeno are huddled close, away from the rest. It’s not far enough to be odd but it’s definitely far enough that Donghyuck can’t hear what they’re talking about. Jaemin is currently cradling Jeno’s wrists, seems to be marvelling his morpher and the blue gem. 

Donghyuck may not be able to hear them but he knows how Jeno ticks, knows the furious blush spreading down his neck because he’s been the one to cause it on more than one occasion. 

Unlike Donghyuck, Yangyang has no qualms about joining them and Donghyuck is fascinated to see Jeno’s blush only getting more intense. He knew about Yangyang already, sort of. Jeno had a soft spot for him from day one, further proven by the blue ranger’s obsession with the green gem. Jaemin is a new development, though. Up until recently, Donghyuck was convinced Jeno doesn’t even like Jaemin, given that his default reaction to Jaemin’s general presence was a scoff. But, well. In the end, Jaemin’s was there when Jeno’s supposedly closest person wasn’t. 

It’s almost funny, this maze of relationships they have. Donghyuck has never been the oblivious type and it’s getting ridiculous, how their eyes keep straying. 

The urge to walk over and find the reason Jeno just burst out laughing is picking up again. He wonders how long Jeno’s eyes are going to keep coming back to him. It feels like an eternity since they even had a proper conversation.

“You’re going to have to talk to him eventually,” a voice says and Donghyuck startles, glancing to find Renjun standing next to him. His eyes are on Jaemin, Jeno and Yangyang as well.

Donghyuck sighs. "I know. But I’m not sure if I’m over it? I don’t actually want to lose him but at the same time, I look at him and I see the blue ranger walking away, leaving us to fight those stupid reptilians."

"I don't think it's a case of being over it," Renjun says carefully. "You have a right to be upset. We all do.”

“But none of you do,” Donghyuck points out.

“None of us were in a romantic relationship with him,” Renjun counters.

The opportunity is  _ there.  _ Donghyuck can let it go and pretend nothing happened. 

Pretending has never really been his thing, though. “You could’ve been,” he says quietly. “With both of us.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Donghyuck can see the way Renjun freezes. Then, slowly, a smile blooms on his lips. “You’re not getting out of this by making me flustered.”

“I’m making you flustered?” Donghyuck asks, all fake innocence.

Renjun rolls his eyes. “Figure out your shit with Jeno first and then you can come attack me, together.”

"That sounds like a challenge," Donghyuck murmurs. There's a feeling spreading through his chest, slow and sure. It feels a little like sunlight and a lot like everything is going to be okay, eventually. 

*

The week that follows is strangely calm. There are no new attacks and they barely spend any time on the island. Now that they know for a fact the gold and silver gems are around, Taeyong tries his best to use his radars to try and find them, which means he has no time for anything. Occasionally, it also means they are called on the island so their gems can recharge the radars in question. This is never for long, though, and with Taeyong otherwise occupied, Ten’s tolerance for babysitting is below ground (his words).

Forget calm. It’s boring.

It also leaves Donghyuck with a lot of time to think. He spends a lot of it doing anything but that but in the end, the voice in his head that sounds suspiciously a lot like Renjun’s wins out.

It happens when he’s curled up on his mom’s ugly floral couch, watching reruns of some stupid drama him and Jeno used watch together. It’s on the older side, ridiculously dramatic for no good reason. On more than one occasion, Donghyuck considers throwing his bag of chips at the screen.

And then it hits him: maybe he’s the one being ridiculously dramatic. Sure, he had his reasons, still does. Renjun was right, like he always is. But if the others managed to see past Jeno’s misguided loyalty, Donghyuck should be able to, as well. He was the closest to Jeno before everything happened, sure, but doesn’t this mean he should know Jeno best, too? He tries to think about it, to really think. The Jeno Donghyuck knows would never hurt somehow he knows, not intentionally.

At the first sign of actual trouble, the Jeno he knows turned on who could possibly be his only real family.

That has to mean something.

(It does.)

So Donghyuck picks up the phone and types a text he should’ve sent a long, long time ago.

*

Jeno looks sheepish at best when he shows up at Donghyuck’s door, about an hour later.

“I don’t want to fight,” is what Donghyuck starts with. It feels important to say it out loud. “Actually,” he adds, “I don’t think I want to talk at all? I was watching drama reruns and it’s kind of boring without you. Wanna cuddle?”

Jeno’s eyes widen and he can’t seem to string a sentence together for a few moments. 

He opens his mouth, then closes it again. “Okay,” is what he says in the end.

It’s surprisingly easy to melt into Jeno’s hands after so long. It’s muscle memory, Donghyuck thinks, knowing how to angle himself so he finds all the soft, comfortable spots on Jeno’s body. Jeno’s arms wrap around him, fingers tucked under his shirt because Jeno always claims he’s cold, even if the fingers on Donghyuck’s stomach rarely are. That’s probably muscle memory, too.

It’s minutes later, a lot of them, when Donghyuck realizes he never unmuted the TV.

He sighs, then turns over in Jeno’s arms. It dislodges his hand but they’ve been in this position so many times before, Jeno instinctively pulls his hand away, settling it on the small of Donghyuck’s back instead. His breath hitches and Donghyuck can feel the exhale that follows on his cheek.

“Tell me about Doyoung,” he says eventually, voice barely above a whisper.

Jeno doesn’t say anything for a long time. Long enough that Donghyuck is almost convinced he’s not going to say anything at all.

Then the fingers running slow circles on Donghyuck’s waist clutch at his sweater instead.

“He lived next door when I was little,” Jeno starts, sounding faraway. “He’s not that much older but I spent a lot of time at their house because my parents were… you know. Four years isn’t that much time but when you’re a kid, it can seem like a lifetime. He was so nice to me, always let me play with his things, trail after him and his friends. I remember I kept messing up their names because they both started with J. I thought Doyoung was the best thing to ever happen to me.” 

Donghyuck pushes down the pang of hurt. For something as big as this, the nonchalance with which Jeno mentioned  _ the person who basically raised me _ before everything happened feels almost insulting. He has to remind himself that most people open up slowly, instead of all at once. Unlike him.

Jeno’s fingers absently card through his hair. “He disappeared right before his last year of high school,” he continues, voice low. “I think it was because of the power rangers thing, even if his parents told me he’s changed schools. About two years later, he came back but it was... different.”

“Different how?” Donghyuck can’t help but ask.

He can feel Jeno’s attempt at a shrug. “He seemed strange? Like he lost something important, maybe. He’s one of the kindest people I’ve met but he was never really a cheerful person, you know? But when he came back, he just looked… broken, I think.”

It paints such a different picture than the thing that took Yangyang through a windshield and left him on the ground, unconscious. 

“He did tell me what happened, after I bonded to the blue gem.” Jeno says, like he read his mind. “I’m not trying to excuse what he did. Knowing both Yangyang and Renjun got hurt because I didn’t keep my mouth shut about Yangyang’s gem will haunt me for the rest of my life.” Jeno pauses his mind probably running away with the same images Donghyuck’s is. Neither of them were there, which kind of makes it worse. Jenos sighs. “I hate it. And what I hate more is knowing there is a reason for Doyoung to be the way he is.” 

It feels like Donghyuck’s whole world pauses, then resumes but not quite the same. 

“You’re not gonna tell me what it is, are you?”

“It’s not my story to tell,” Jeno says gently. “I think you might get to find out soon, though.”

It sounds ominous enough that on any other day, Donghyuck would prod. But he knows Jeno well enough to be sure all the prodding in the world would prove useless. 

He chooses to focus on other things instead: the sound of Jeno heartbeat, listening to his voice voice. It makes Donghyuck makes him nostalgic for a time when things weren’t so complicated. It wasn’t that long ago, either.

“I’m sorry I was a dick,” he says after the silence stretches for too long.

“You had every right to be mad,” Jeno counters. “You all did. Honestly, I don’t really think I deserve the way the others are treating me.”

“We’re the good guys, remember?” Donghyuck smiles, hidden in Jeno’s neck. “What kind of superheroes would we be if we didn’t let people learn from their mistakes, grow.”

Jeno lets out a small laugh, choked enough to sound more like a sob instead. His brings Donghyuck closer, even though there’s barely any space between them as it is. It feels like all the jagged pieces of Donghyuck’s heart are slotting back into place.

*

Jeno stays the night, which isn't surprising at all. Sometimes Donghyuck is convinced his mom loves Jeno more than she loves him. She never misses an opportunity to ask him to stay for dinner or just stay over, if it’s getting late. Her finding out they're dating had almost no effect on this, even if now she make a point of setting up a separate futon for Jeno each time he’s over, topped off with a five-second, mildly threatening stare at each of them before she leaves. 

It would be absolutely hilarious if it wasn't so embarrassing.

But Donghyuck’s mom doesn't do the stare this time, instead just gives them blankets and a smile before she goes to bed herself. Donghyuck wonders if she missed Jeno, too.

*

It ends up being a good thing. Like a bad joke of an alarm clock, their communicators blare to life at eight the next morning. Taeyong’s frenzied voice calls them to the town square, where apparently yet another monster is wreaking havoc.

Jeno rolls over, burying his face in the pillow.

“What time is it?”

Donghyuck groans. “Probably too early to be awake on a Saturday. Why didn't Taeyong install a clock in our morphers?”

Jeno looks up from the pillow, eyes wary. “Mine has one. Doyoung said I space out enough without having to check a million different devices at once.”

A beat of silence passes. Surprisingly, Donghyuck finds the name doesn't make him want to punch things this time.

“Smart words,” he mutters. He sighs, loud and long-suffering. “The villains always get the cool tech.”

That’s the final blow to whatever mood was forming and Jeno whines, picking up the useless argument that he is not, in fact, a villain.

It goes on all the way to Jaemin’s house, then Renjun’s. While they do get looks - both relieved (Jaemin) and proud (Renjun) thankfully, no one says anything. Instead, they act just like they did in school, before all this happened. Except Jeno is one of them now, in every possible way.

Yangyang is already waiting for them when they get to school and he grins at them, right before he drags them to the dead end street where Jaemin used to park.

“It’s morphin’ time?” Jaemin grins, as soon as they're out of sight for random bypassers. 

Renjun groans.

“Jeno first!” Yangyang beams pushing Jeno in the middle.

“Nooo,” Jeno whines, attempting to shuffle right back where he came from. When Yangyang doesn’t budge, even under the force of his puppy eyes, Jeno turns to Jaemin instead.

It takes approximately five seconds for Jaemin’s entire resolve to break. He turns to Renjun, helpless. “Maybe… it’s better if we do it together?”

“You are a weakling, Na Jaemin,” Renjun sighs. 

Jaemin ridiculously offended, for someone who was all but rolling on the ground at the sight of a puppy face just a moment ago. “This isn’t fair,” he says, glaring at Renjun. He grabs Jeno by the shoulders, then spins him around to face Renjun. “Look at this!”

It’s ridiculous. Jeno still has the puppy eyes when Renjun sees him, even if there’s a hint of surprise there. Renjun looks… pained, is the best way to put it. 

They’re all weaklings, really.

“Okay seriously, time to morph,” Renjun says, side-stepping the whole issue. Jeno fistbumps the air and Yangyang rolls his eyes but he follows when they all get into position.

For all the commotion, Jeno is the first one to yell,  _ Bubbles! _

Jaemin and Yangyang follow right after which leaves only Donghyuck and Renjun staring, eyes wide.

Because Jeno flips over and between one blinks and the next, the blue ranger is there instead. No  _ Ancient storm engage!  _ not even _ Power up!  _

Just  _ Bubbles!  _

Jaemin looks incredibly pleased with himself and it clicks, finally. That’s what they were doing, huddled together back on the island. That’s why Yangyang insisted.

Donghyuck finally raises his morpher too, because he’s now surrounded with color-coded superheroes. Renjun has his hands on his hips, foot tapping impatiently but Donghyuck is ready to call bullshit. He is a hundred percent sure Renjun morphed as fast as he did to hide the same things Donghyuck knows his face is doing.

His bubbles! isn’t as loud and fierce as the rest of them, more content instead. His skirt flutters when his feet touch the ground again and Donghyuck allows himself one last second to enjoy the sight: the people he truly cares about, in one place. In sync. Together.

The monster won’t know what hit it.


	5. Ancient storm, power ranger blue!

The whole monster business is starting to look more like a rinse-repeat type of situation. Jeno flops on his bed face first, ready to nap away the latest fight. The monster was particularly ugly this time so he has half a mind to worry about nightmares but in the end, he was the one to deal the final blow. That should probably cancel out the possibility of ugly monster nightmares, right?

Sure, it did rise up again but the monsters lose some of their power when big and the zords rarely have issues defeating them. They have been getting stronger recently, though.

Taeyong says he’s looking into potentially finding a way to make a megazord and maybe some extra weaponry, which is great. Still, Jeno can't help but wonder what Doyoung would've come up with.

“Lord Spegg is planning an attack,” a voice says behind him and Jeno startles. The instinctual panic doesn’t last long, of course. He’d recognize this voice anywhere.

When Jeno turns, Doyoung is leaning against the doorframe, absently following Jeno’s movements around the room.

Jeno takes a seat on his bed. “Isn’t he always? What’s different this time?”

“It’s different,” Doyoung says, squeezing his eyes shut. He seems nervous, something Jeno hasn’t seen on the new Doyoung before. He looks different, somehow. More like… himself. His old self. He sighs, then crosses the room to sit next to Jeno. “It’s bigger. He wants to summon… things. It looks like despite everything, we never managed to beat that thing.”

The blood in Jeno’s veins feels like icicles, suddenly.  _ The thing. _ He’s heard the story from both Taeyong and Doyoung and while the details around it were different, one thing remained the same: whatever they fought was bad. So, so bad.

“You’re going to need all the help you can get,” Doyoung continues, voice low. 

“But we don’t have anyone,” Jeno argues. With each second, it feels like the doom is settling around him like a wall. “Well, the gold and silver rangers but they weren’t much help last time, I don’t want them to accidentally hurt themselves. And even then, we don’t know how to contact them.”

Doyoung laughs. “Gold and silver? They’re probably young but so are you. They’ll learn in no time. But I meant something else.”

Jeno waits for the remainder of that sentence but it never comes. “Something like what?”

“Your friend,” Doyoung says eventually. “The green one. Make him contact the person who gave him the green gem. Tell them that the dark one is rising. Tell that to Taeil as well.”

“Taeil?” Jeno asks, incredulous. “Moon Taeil? From the café?

“One and the same,” Doyoung smiles. He gets this faraway look for a while, and when he looks back at Jeno again, his eyes are so soft. “You’ll probably find it easier to locate your gold and silver rangers after that.”

“What about Taeyong? Should I tell him?”

The smile melts away from Doyoung’s face in an instant. “Yes. You’ll have to give him something, too.”

He gets up, takes a deep breath. It’s calm for a single moment, before Doyoung closes his eyes, then reaches straight into his chest.

Pale blue light crackles around him, bursts out of his chest. Doyoung’s face scrunches up in pain and all Jeno can do is watch, frozen. It’s like watching a trainwreck about to happen: you can’t look away, you can’t move away. You can’t do anything about it.

In seconds, it’s over. Doyoung pulls his hand away. The explosion of light is gone and when Doyoung, out of breath, opens his palm there is a small ball of pale blue light in it.

“When I joined lord Spegg,” Doyoung explains, eyes trained on the light in his hand, “my ranger powers were gone. So he gave me new ones. They’re quite powerful but inherently evil, so they fucked with my brain for a while. Sometimes they still do.” He offers Jeno the ball of light. “Taeyong will need time to purify it but it should be enough to power up the morphers for one last fight.”

Jeno carefully picks up the light. When he gets closer, it crackles in his face, making him jump back.

“Be careful,” Doyoung warns. He looks around the room, then snatches the pendant that used to house Jeno’s gem from his bedside table. The ball of light fits inside like it was made for it. “Much better,” Doyoung says, satisfied as he clasps the pendant around Jeno’s neck.

“What about you?” Jeno asks, absently tracing the pendant with the tips of his fingers.

Doyoung shrugs. “I left just enough power to be able to pass as normal back on the ship. They’d figure it out immediately in a fight but most of the idiots there are too scared to fight me.” Jeno laughs at that, and Doyoung waits for it to fade out before he adds, “I have to go.” 

He pauses at the door, quiet for a few tense moments. Eventually, he offers Jeno a bitter smile. “Taeyong is going to know where you got that from and he’s going to question you. Tell him I haven’t forgiven him. But I remember why we did what we did.”

Jeno nods and just like that, Doyoung is gone. There is no sound of footsteps down the stairs, no doors opening and closing. One moment he’s there, then he’s not.

With a sigh, Jeno gets up, closes his door and crawls into bed, cradling the pendant in his palm. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.

*

He wonders how he should go about this.

Telling the others first would probably be the right choice but their general opinion of Doyoung is far from the best. Sure, they may trust Jeno but does it extend towards Jeno’s trust for Doyoung?

The image of Doyoung reaching into his own chest, quite literally ripping his power out, is still fresh in Jeno’s mind.

He can't mess this up.

For once in his life, Jeno is happy it’s a school day. Spending the day with Donghyuck and occasionally the rest of them feels a little like betrayal, the pendant weighing a ton under his shirt. But more than that, having company, boring old school gives him a sense of peace. Normalcy. The hope that everything will get better, eventually.

“Good morning, sunshine,” Yangyang says with a completely straight face, when Jeno picks him up from his house. He doesn’t cringe immediately after either, and Jeno laments the loss of the cute, shy Yangyang he met initially. 

One of the biggest surprises once he got comfortable with them was just how ridiculous Liu Yangyang is on a day-to-day basis. Twelve out of ten times, he’ll greet Jeno with something so cheesy Jeno wants to die on the spot or, the worst case scenario: pick up lines. On those days, Jeno swears Yangyang spends his evenings googling “dumbest pick up lines”.

“I still don’t understand,” Jeno says as they pass by his house, “why am I the one to pick you up when we literally have to pass by my place to get to school?”

Yangyang turns to him, eyes huge and innocent. “Because I might get lost?”

He’s definitely been hanging out with Donghyuck too much.

“Right,” Jeno says. He’s positive Yangyang hasn’t needed supervision to get to Jeno’s for a very, very long time now. He bumps into Yangyang, effectively ruining the innocent façade as Yangyang fights to keep his balance. “You’ve been robbing me of an extra ten minutes of sleep for a whole eternity, I hope you feel bad.”

“Not even close,” Yangyang grins, all teeth. 

Jeno rolls his eyes. The conversation lulls into silence and Doyoung’s words crystalize in his brain, like a shipwreck washed ashore.  _ Make him contact the person who gave him the green gem. Tell them that the dark one is rising. _

“Hey Yangyang,” Jeno starts, unsure. The pendant feels like its burning a hole through his chest. Yangyang makes a noise of acknowledgment, too busy counting tiles to look at Jeno. Jeno takes a deep breath. “You trust me, right?”

That gets Yangyang’s attention. “Of course I do. What’s this about?”

“Do you still keep in touch with your friends in Germany? The ones that gave you the dino gem?”

“Sure,” Yangyang says, eyebrows up in his fringe. “Actually, I just talked to Kun last night. Why?”

“Could you… maybe tell them something for me?” Jeno squeezes his eyes shut, fully aware of how it sounds. When the silence stretches, he peeks an eye open to find Yangyang staring back curiously.

“Why?”

“This is the part where you have to trust me,” Jeno says with a sigh. He hopes the conversation with Taeil goes better than this. 

“Okay,” Yangyang agrees, Jeno gives him an incredulous look and Yangyang just shrugs. “What’s the thing?”

Fully aware that he sounds like a shitty cartoon villain, Jeno mumbles, “That the dark one is rising.”

He’s torn between hoping Yangyang missed it and praying he didn’t. On one hand, “the dark one is rising” sounds like a bad line from an even worse movie but on the other, if Yangyang did not actually hear him Jeno would have to  _ repeat it. _

There’s some more silence. When Jeno refuses to meet his eyes, Yangyang pokes him. “Am I going to understand what this means?”

“Probably,” Jeno says, swatting Yangyang’s hands away. “I’m not sure of all the details myself, honestly.”

“Doyoung?” Yangyang asks, completely casual.  _ Now  _ Jeno stares at him. 

“I… you don’t sound upset?”

Yangyang shrugs. “I told you, I trust you. And besides,” he points at his palm, where the scar from one of the scratches the windshield caused is fading away. “I’ve thought about this a lot. I got pulled out through heavy glass, right?” Jeno nods, even though the idea makes him sick. “Well,” Yangyang continues, gesturing at the scar again. “This is the deepest wound I got, mainly because I tried to hold onto the broken glass when Doyoung pulled me out.”

“And how is that supposed to make things better?” Jeno asks, hands in his pockets. He hates the reminder of what happened. Of what Doyoung did. The Doyoung that left two of his closest people unconscious seems so far from the Doyoung Jeno knows. 

“No, look,” Yangyang insists, all but pushing his palm in Jeno’s face. “I got pulled out through a windshield, Jeno. A windshield. Glass. And my worst injury is from trying to fight against it. Taeyong said I was only unconscious for this long because of the gem being ripped away from me. Renjun hit the tree in ranger form.”

Jeno heaves a sigh. “I don’t think Donghyuck would agree with you.”

“That’s not important right now,” Yangyang says. “You said it yourself. He could’ve blown you, Hyuck and Renjun up but instead he missed so bad that he let you fall straight onto the ptera zord. I really don’t think he’s as villainous as he wants everyone to believe.” He allows a moment for the words to sink in, before he goes on. “So let me ask you again. Is this because of Doyoung?”

“Yes,” Jeno admits finally.

Yangyang nods. “And he thinks Kun would be able to help with whatever this is?”

“Yes.”

“Okay,” he says. They’re almost at school now and in the distance, Jeno can see Donghyuck pulling up in the school parking lot. 

“Hey, Jeno,” Yangyang starts again, fingers wrapping around his wrist. “I may not know what you’ve been through but I know what it’s like when blood doesn’t necessarily feel like family. Don’t be ashamed of loving the family that you do have.”

Jeno opens his mouth to reply but in the end, no words come out. Donghyuck and Jaemin are walking towards them now, almost within hearing distance.

Yangyang squeezes his wrist for a brief second, then lets go. “I’ll talk to Kun tonight.”

With that, he’s off to hug Jaemin hello, resulting in Donghyuck speed walking to Jeno instead, already grumbling about disgusting couples. 

Jeno can the smile he’s hiding, though. 

*

Of course, because for once in his life Jeno isn’t excited to be done with school, the day passes in a blur. 

Lunch hour is a nice distraction, at least. He gets to experience Renjun being intensely embarrassed and pretending he’s not when Donghyuck sandwiches him between Jeno and himself. Jeno also gets to experience Jaemin’s curious looks from across the table but that’s neither here nor there.

Aside from lunch, however, it’s like everything is suddenly at double speed. In no time, Jeno is done with school and headed for Taeil’s café. 

“What do you mean you suddenly crave coffee?” Jaemin asks, eyes narrowed. “You don’t even like coffee?”

“Uh,” Jeno says, in a peak eloquence moment. If only he’d said something like hot chocolate, or even tea. Why did he have to say he wants coffee?

“Maybe we should all get coffees,” Donghyuck shrugs, ever the knight in shining armor. “University is supposed to be made of coffee and bad decisions, right? Might as well start early.” 

He definitely wouldn’t have done that if he knew why Jeno wanted a coffee but he pushes that thought away.

Renjun, who’s been walking between Jaemin and Yangyang (holding hands) and Jeno and Donghyuck (also holding hands), glares at no one in particular. “I’m starting to regret you two making up.”

“I have two hands,” Donghyuck says cheerily, swinging his free one dangerously close to Renjun’s sides.

Renjun jumps aside, which coincidentally places him right within Yangyang’s reach. Yangyang uses the opportunity to lace his fingers with Renjun’s instead.

Donghyuck stares at them, scandalized. “Betrayal,” he hisses, waving an imaginary sword at Renjun and Yangyang’s linked hands. “I challenge you to a duel, Liu Yangyang.”

Okay, so maybe Donghyuck takes the whole knight in shining armor business a little too seriously.

They’re almost at the café, thank god. Jeno opens the door wide and keeps it open, until the very last of them gets in. Jaemin, Yangyang and Renjun are still holding hands which makes the whole process harder. Donghyuck glares at them through the entirety of it. 

Once inside, Jeno finds himself in a predicament. It would be weird to pull Taeil aside - mainly because the others would question him afterwards. He's not ready to answer those questions. The conversation itself doesn't bother him as much, though. He's been here with Donghyuck enough times that Taeil has adopted him as well and Taeil is the sweetest, if sometimes annoying adult Jeno has met. 

The solution, obviously, is to offer ordering for everyone. 

Carrying five drinks shouldn’t be that hard, even if remembering the whole list proves a bit of a challenge. Jeno swears the lot of them just listed the most complicated drinks they could think of. In fact, he’s almost positive he saw Yangyang google “longest starbucks drink”. They’re not even in a Starbucks.

Of course, Jeno stopped listening around the second time “extra whipped cream” reached his ears so now everyone except Renjun is getting the strongest Americano that the coffee machines in this shop can make. 

(Renjun is the exception not because Jeno is whipped, even if that's also accurate, but because he was the only one to roll his eyes at the endless list of drink orders.  _ I want a hot chocolate, _ Renjun had said, and Jeno's poor, assaulted by whipped cream brain, had gone  _ marry me. _ Thank god being close to Doyoung left him with a mostly reliable brain-to-mouth filter.)

The barista behind the counter is decidedly not Taeil. 

Jeno should've noticed that coming in, probably, the café is not  _ that _ big. But he didn't, and now he's faced with a problem. Taeil is always manning the cash register if he's around. Which means that, in the interest of time sensitivity, Jeno will have to relay the message through the new barista. He has a vivid memory of both Yangyang and Renjun's faces lighting up when the boy was introduced which probably means his name is Chenle, but Jeno had been too… distracted at the time to be sure. 

So essentially, now he has to utter the words  _ the dark one is rising, _ very seriously, to a complete stranger. 

Sure, Yangyang took the whole "the dark one is rising" thing well but Yangyang… Knows him. Trusts him even, to Jeno's never-ending surprise. 

Probably-Chenle? He has no reason to believe a single word that comes out of Jeno's mouth. 

But he made a promise. So Jeno braces himself, walks up to the counter and says, as fast as his tongue would let him, "Two hot chocolates, three americanos and please tell Taeil the dark one is rising?"

Probably-Chenle blinks at him, hand frozen over a paper cup. "What?"

"Please don't question it?" Jeno pleads, doing his best to appear as pathetic as possible. Donghyuck has told him it tends to make people more willing to do what he wants them to. 

Probably-Chenle makes a mildly disgusted face. "Yeah, sure. I'll tell him when he gets back. Your drinks will be ready in a minute."

Jeno is never trusting Donghyuck with anything ever again.

*

Donghyuck and Yangyang’s faces when they take a sip of their coffees are priceless. Jeno wishes he had taken a picture.

“Are you trying to poison me,” Donghyuck hisses. Jeno can see it in his eyes, that americano is headed straight for his face, so he subtly moves across the table, next to Renjun. Donghyuck rolls his eyes and Jeno is only half-sure Donghyuck won’t risk throwing the coffee at Renjun by accident.

“Actually,” Jaemin says, curiosity twinkling in his voice. “I kind of like this. Are you two going to drink those?” He gestures to Yangyang’s and Donghyuck’s abandoned cups and it’s then that Jeno notices Jaemin’s is actually empty.

Renjun stares at the cup, then at Jaemin happily sipping on Donghyuck’s coffee, then at Jeno. “You may have created a monster.”

“I never asked you to come with me,” Jeno shrugs. He thought it would be an issue at first - how was he supposed to talk to Taeil about this mysterious dark one with every single person he’s currently hiding things from is just a few metres away?

But then again, if they weren’t those few metres away, Jeno isn’t sure if he would’ve been able to talk to- Chenle. Let’s be real, he’s probably Chenle.

“Mm, maybe not,” Jaemin says around the rim of Yangyang’s coffee, “but you’re happy we’re here.”

Jeno blinks at him. Does the tricera spirit come with mind reading abilities?

“You’re kinda easy to read, babe,” Donghyuck smiles, slightly apologetic. Renjun and Yangyang nod in unison.

And Jeno… isn’t. Hiding a big part of yourself for so long comes with its perks and Jeno knows for a fact that he can be great at pretending. But when it comes to the four of them, there’s a lot of truth to Donghyuck’s words.

Jeno wonders what that says about him.

*

They don’t spend a lot longer in the café and soon enough, Donghyuck is playing taxi again.

“I hate all of you,” Donghyuck mumbles as he pulls up in front of Yangyang’s house. “So much.”

“Lucky for you we don’t,” Yangyang beams, reaching to ruffle Donghyuck’s hair. Everything stills for a few long seconds, all of them watching Donghyuck’s reaction with bated breath.

He  _ pouts. _

Then, of course, ruins it all by glaring at them. “Stop looking at me like I’ve grown a second head and get off my car.”

“So rude,” Jeno mutters, making sure it’s loud enough to be heard by everyone. He does get out of the car, which means Donghyuck rolls down down his window, undoubtedly with a retort in mind. Jeno uses that opportunity to lean through the window and give him a kiss instead. “See you tomorrow?”

Donghyuck stays frozen for about half a second, before his eyes soften. “That was a low blow, why am I even dating you?”

“Because you’re disgustingly cute together and love to make our lives miserable?” Renjun asks from the backseat.

Yangyang laughs. “All I heard was cute and I’ll have to agree, honestly.”

Jaemin crosses his arms, glaring at nobody in particular. “Can we go now?” 

"Someone is jealous," Yangyang sing-songs, to which Jaemin only glares harder. 

"I hate to agree with Jaemin," Donghyuck sighs, long-suffering, "but this window is ruining the nice heating my car has going on and that shit is expensive."

"Such a drama queen," Jeno sighs as well, in a perfect imitation of Donghyuck's tone. 

He only gets an eye roll in response, along with Donghyuck rolling up the window, then starting the car. 

Not before he sends Jeno a kiss, though. 

Jeno lingers until Donghyuck's car is out of sight, then some more. It wasn't that long ago when Donghyuck wouldn't even look at him, let alone play around like this. It's nice to know the people you care about most trust you enough to forgive. 

Jeno feels a nudge to the side, effectively startling him out of his thoughts. 

"Hey there," Yangyang smiles, eyes gentle. "I think I lost you for a second."

“Still here,” Jeno says, shaking off the weird feeling that’s trying to take root in his gut. “I was just thinking. I’ll have to talk to Taeyong very soon.”

As far as subtle topic changes go, this is not Jeno’s best effort. Yangyang takes it anyway.

“Yeah,” he agrees, pulling up the scarf around his neck slightly higher. It’s adorable. “I’ll have to talk to Kun now, too. The morning rush must have just ended, he can totally sneak in the back room to talk to me.”

“Tell...” Jeno starts, then pauses. “I wanted to say tell him I said hi but that would probably be weird.”

Yangyang grins. “Probably. I’ll still tell him though.”

“I hate you,” Jeno mutters, making a show of walking way, his back to Yangyang.

“Somehow I find that hard to believe!” Yangyang calls after him, laughing, to which Jeno just walks faster. Whatever his face probably has going on is a hundred percent the weather’s fault.

*

It takes exactly one hour from the moment Jeno closes his front door to the moment when his communicator blares to life, Taeyong’s voice, hard like Jeno’s never heard it before, saying  _ Everyone on the island now. _

He gets a text from Donghyuck almost immediately after, asking if he should come pick them up. Jeno declines and hopes Yangyang will, too. It’ll be faster if they walk.

It is faster. The way to school which usually takes them around twenty minutes now barely goes over ten and Jeno all but skids to a halt in front of the portal, Yangyang running straight into his back. Donghyuck pulls up five minutes later, both Jaemin and Renjun with him already.

“Does any of you have an idea what this is about?” Jaemin asks, lower lip squeezed between his teeth so hard Jeno winces in sympathy.

He wonders if saying no would count as a lie.

“No,” Yangyang says without a hint of a doubt. He doesn’t glance at Jeno, doesn’t shift from foot to foot. He looks sure, plain and simple. 

Jeno finds comfort in the fact that even if this blew up in his face, again, there would be someone on the other side to catch him. Again.

It’s Renjun who breaks the silence, finally. “We won’t know until we get there. Let’s go.”

The way to Taeyong’s cave is eerily quiet. The island isn’t brimming with wildlife, being in the air and everything, but even there the occasional birt will chirp away. There’s nothing of that now. The zords are out of their mountains, too, spread out further into the island, their massive frames throwing shade where the sun used to mess up the grass with its brightness. The ptera zord lifts its head when they arrive, letting out a gentle, metallic whine before it curls up again. Donghyuck smiles at it and it makes Jeno wonder if he’ll ever have this type of relationship with the stegosaurus. The spirit in his mind hums in content but the zord gives no reaction.

Taeyong is frantic when they get to the cave. “We don’t have enough weapons,” he hisses, paging through a stack of paper as thick as Jeno’s forearm. “This thing-”

“What thing,” Donghyuck interrupts, not unkindly. “We can’t know what’s wrong if you don’t tell us.”

Taeyong pauses, then heaves a sigh. He slumps around the side of the cave, the papers slipping out of his hand and fluttering to the ground in a big, white heap.

Now that Jeno looks at them, each sheet looks work around the edges, like someone has looked at it one too many times.

“Something is happening,” Taeyong says, voice quiet and resigned. “I can’t figure out what but something is happening and I think it’ll be big.”

“I um,” Jeno starts. He has a feeling Taeyong’s something has everything to do with Doyoung’s warning. “I think we should talk?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll tell you all about it,” Taeyong mumbles. He pulls at his hair, groaning. “I have to figure out a way to combine the zords before something happens, I just-”

“I think I can help with that,” a new voice says. They’ve all been so invested in Taeyong’s breakdown, no one even noticed they’re no longer alone. “Also,” Taeil goes on, gesturing at Jeno with a smile. “I don’t think he meant what you think he meant.”

*

“Wait, wait, wait,” Donghyuck says a few minutes later, staring at Taeyong incredulously. He points to Taeil. “You mean to tell me that he was part of your team, _ a ranger,  _ and you never thought to tell me?”,

Taeil laughs. “I was a yellow ranger, too. But don’t judge him too harshly, we had it drilled into our heads that you never reveal identities unless it’s a life and death situation.” 

“How did you even find this place? The portal?” Yangyang asks, awed.

“Taeyong isn’t as subtle at portals as he thinks he is,” Taeil grins, ignoring Taeyong’s indignant huff. “Doyoung was always the master of portals in our team. I’m willing to bet my entire café that he knows about all the entrances to the island, too.”

Jeno ignores every single glance aimed his way.

Jaemin is the first one to break the silence. “Do you think this is why we were attacked in the forest that first day?”

“I’ve thought about this,” Taeyong sighs. “I don’t think so, though. Serpentina is great at sniffing out gems and she was after Ten initially. It’s very likely she just told Lord Spegg about the forest before she hit the road.” 

Ten nods. “I kinda agree. There haven’t been any concentrated attacks at your school either. The portals are protected but Doyoung  _ is  _ an ex ranger. If he really wanted, he could’ve come up here and attacked us.”

Again, everyone goes quiet. Again, Jeno ignores the glances.

“Honestly,” Renjun says, throwing his hands in the air. He looks so  _ done. _ “Doyoung confuses the hell out of me. He’s super nice to Jeno, then he attacks us, then he essentially saves us from Lord Spegg’s ship  _ while  _ attacking us, and now you’re telling me all this time he had the means to just attack us where we’re most vulnerable. But didn’t.”

Donghyuck nods. “I’ll have to agree. I think it’s time that someone explains to us what the hell is wrong with Doyoung.”

Jeno opens his mouth to argue that no, nothing is wrong with Doyoung, but a warning look from Renjun stops him.

Taeyong’s lips form a thin line. “I suppose you’re right.”

*

“The fight was vicious,” Taeil starts, voice faraway, just like Taeyong’s was when he first told them about this. “But you probably already know that.”

There are a few nods, even though it wasn’t really a question.

Taeyong gives them a wane smile. “There were nine of us. Most of us only met when we became rangers but Doyoung had been friends with our pink and black rangers since forever.”

“Jungwoo, Jaehyun.” Taeil says, a similar smile on his lips. “It’s nice to hear their names out loud from time to time. The thing we fought was so strong, we were almost sure we couldn’t beat it but we couldn’t stop. It knocked out Doyoung, it was so bad we weren’t sure if he’d even make it.”

“We tried to stop him,” Taeyong continues, so quiet it’s a little hard to decipher. “But the moment Doyoung hit the ground, Jungwoo attacked the thing. Alone. It blasted him off so hard we lost sight of him and I wanted to follow, to find him but-”

“There was nothing you could do,” Taeil murmurs gently. “We barely survived as it is, if we had lost one more person we would’ve lost everyone.”

Jeno can only listen in silence, each word hitting him like a brick. He knows some of the story already but what he knows, really, is what Doyoung knows. And this is not part of it.

Taeyong sighs. “We couldn’t beat it, in the end. We sealed it in another dimension, of sorts, but even this way we barely survived. Doyoung was unconscious, Jungwoo lost and our powers were almost gone.”

“Almost?” Yangyang asks. “But you no longer have them, right? Like, at all?”

“We don’t have them now,” Taeil corrects. “We had some left after the battle, though. With Doyoung unconscious and Jungwoo gone, Jaehyun decided to go look for him. We gave him what’s left of our powers.”

“It makes sense,” Jaemin says, eyes on Taeyong. “This Jungwoo person was pink, right? I was the only one Doyoung didn’t attack that night.”

Renjun’s hums in agreement. “And I got the worst of it, because I’m red. So what happened? None of this was anyone’s fault. Why is Doyoung so convinced everyone betrayed him?”

“Doyoung doesn’t know about this,” Jeno says, without a hint of doubt. “You never told him, did you? He told me what happened, the fight, waking up, but he has no idea what happened to either Jungwoo or Jaehyun. You left him to make his own conclusions.”

If he sounds accusing, well. Jeno’s willing to accept it.

“Think about it,” Taeyong says. He sounds so tired. “None of this was our fault in any way but at the end of the day, Jungwoo attacked the thing after Doyoung passed out. What conclusions do you think he would’ve come to knowing that?”

To that, Jeno has no answer.

*

It seems the walk down memory lane leaves everyone in a bit of a contemplative mood. No one quite knows how to react to the whole story and Jeno’s already complicated feelings about Doyoung only complicate further.

“What about the others?” Ten asks eventually, breaking yet another, too long, moment of silence. “Those silver and gold rangers?”

“Ah yeah, Mark and Johnny came to visit a while ago,” Taeil nods. There’s an audible gasp from Taeyong. “They brought proteges, Chenle and Jisung, adorable. I actually introduced everyone to your kids!”

Jeno opens his mouth, then closes it. “You mean those two kids are… those… bumbly rangers?”

“Kids,” Taeil snorts. “They are one and two years younger than you respectively. You don’t exactly have room to talk.”

“Children,” Donghyuck stresses, a hesitant grin on his face when Jeno throws him a grateful glance.

Taeyong seems to finally come to his senses, waving all of them off. “What about the rest? Yuta?”

“On the next flight here,” Taeil says, tone serious for once. “I talked to Sicheng too but him and his new team already knew about this. They are on the way here as well.”

“About whatever’s happening?” Taeyong sounds confused, most of all. “But even I don’t know what’s really happening.”

“Well, that’s because you were too busy stressing out to listen to Jeno here,” Taeil grins. “Who do you think told me shit’s hitting the fan in the first place?”

Yet again, all eyes are on Jeno. Well, now or never?

“Doyoung visited me,” Jeno starts. There’s a sharp intake of breath - it’s just air, but Jeno can recognize Donghyuck anywhere. “He told me to tell Taeil about, uh, something. And also Yangyang, which I imagine is how this Sicheng of yours knows.”

“Wait,” Yangyang says, breathless. “Sicheng? As in, Dong Sicheng? Kun’s… whatever he is?”

Ten, who’s been uncharacteristically quiet so far, starts laughing. “I knew it. I fucking knew it! It was Dejun who gave you the green gem, wasn't it? Gems are drawn to people who’ve had similar power, that’s how me and Taeyong managed to locate the red and pink gems and probably how Taeil got the yellow one.”

Jeno stares at all of them, at the realization slowly dawning on Yangyang’s face. 

“Your team,” he breathes, “your team are Yangyang’s friends?”

“Yup,” Ten grins, “I had my suspicious but I haven’t had the time to keep in contact regularly, so I wasn’t sure. The island isn’t famous for its good wifi.”

“I have questions.” Donghyuck states unceremoniously. “First of all, this goddamn island. Why here? You both must have known that Taeil was still around. Why didn’t any of you keep in contact with  _ him?” _ Taeyong’s face hardens but Donghyuck just goes on, eyes on Jeno now. “And what in the world is that  _ something  _ everyone is talking about?”

“I can answer the first one,” Taeil shrugs, throwing an apologetic glance at Taeyong. “I imagine I would’ve been too much of a reminder of what happened. Let me guess, you haven’t left the island much since you found it, have you?”

Taeyong’s silence is answer enough.

Taeil sighs, then turns to Jeno. “For the other question, though, I’m not the best person to explain. Come on, Jeno. Tell them exactly what happened.”

Jeno heaves a sigh. It was going to come down to that, one way or another. “Doyoung was worried when he visited. Said Lord Spegg is trying to summon… things? His exact words to relay were,  _ the dark one is rising.” _

Taeyong freezes, expression unreadable. Taeil and Ten aren’t much better.

“That, uh, kinda sounds like a shitty supervillain reference,” Jaemin says into the silence.

“That,” Taeyong starts, voice perfectly even, “is a reference to that thing we fought. It called itself  _ the dark one.” _

*

It seems like everyone needs some time to process it. They might be fighting the monster that destroyed Taeyong’s team and Doyoung’s life.

Weirdly enough, the conversations break off in vastly different directions. Taeil and Taeyong look lost in their own world, Ten has pulled Yangyang aside, probably to question him about his friends and Donghyuck has essentially wrapped himself around Renjun, murmuring things in his ear that Renjun huffs at, but smiles anyway.

Jaemin goes from hovering around Yangyang to hovering around Jeno instead.

“Doesn’t it bother you?” Jaemin asks, gesturing to where Donghyuck is definitely cuddling a reluctant Renjun at this point. Jeno kind of wants to join them - maybe the whole looming threat feeling would disperse. Maybe they had the right idea.

Jeno shrugs. “It’s cute.”

Jaemin glances at them too, then at Yangyang. “I guess.”

It’s so ridiculous, the whole thing. Jeno can’t help but laugh. “Would it bother you if Yangyang made out with Renjun?” Jaemin’s eyes glaze over for a moment and Jeno laughs harder, pushing him away. “Oh my god, I didn’t mean imagine it right now.”

“I don’t think I would,” Jaemin says after a while, when Jeno has calmed down. “Actually, I don’t think I would mind if he made out with Hyuck either. Or you.”

“There’s your answer, then,” Jeno shrugs. “It doesn’t have to be that complicated, I think. I wouldn’t mind dating Yangyang. I never thought I’d say this, but I wouldn’t mind dating you either.”

“Excuse you, I’m a delight,” Jaemin grumbles. Then his eyes go back to Renjun, who doesn’t look quite so reluctant anymore.

“What about Renjun?”

Jeno blinks at him. “Me and Hyuck have been trying to date him since, like, before you even knew about me being a ranger.”

“Oh,” Jaemin blinks. “That… makes sense.”

Jeno smiles, something warm and soft spreading inside his chest. “It does, doesn’t it?” 

It feels important, this moment. Like a puzzle piece clicking into place.

The moment is broken when a tap lands on Jeno’s shoulder and when he looks up, Taeyong is looking at him with a frown. “Hey Jeno, can we talk for a moment?”

Jaemin gives him a look but slips off, going to bother Donghyuck and Renjun instead.

Taeyong watches him go for a long moment, before he turns back to Jeno. “Did Doyoung… not say anything about me?”

Jeno’s hand instinctively goes to the necklace. The plan was to go to Taeyong last because that conversation was the hardest in his head but with everything-

“Actually,” Jeno says, unclasping the necklace. “He did say something about you. I meant to tell you but,” he gestures to the place at all. Taeil and Ten lost in conversation, Yangyang now with the other three instead. “He said you’re going to need to power up the morphers. I’m not sure what it means, but he gave me this.”

He takes Taeyong’s hand, then drops the pendant into his palm. Taeyong opens it, the power inside crackling in his face like electricity.

The pendant snaps shut immediately. “This is-”

“His power,” Jeno confirms. “He said you’re going to have to purify it first. I think I was supposed to go to you first but I was just. Scared, I guess? That you’d think I’ve betrayed you again. So I put it off.”

“You never betrayed us in the first place,” Taeyong says, not a hint of doubt in his voice. He lets the pendant dangle between his fingers, absently wrapping it around his wrist. “What about him? Doyoung, I mean. Is he safe?”

And that’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? The one Jeno has been avoided since that evening. “I have no idea,” he says honestly. “He said he left just enough to fool Lord Spegg and his goons but- I don’t know.” There’s one thing he does know, though. “You care about him.”

“Of course I do,” Taeyong huffs. “He’s my teammate. He… was my teammate,” he corrects, frowning.

Jeno contemplates his next words for a moment. “I think you should tell him,” he says eventually. “The truth, I mean. About his friends. He deserves to know.”

Contrary to what Jeno expected, Taeyong doesn’t get mad. Doesn’t even look annoyed.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do, is there?” he sighs instead. It doesn’t sound like he believes his own words. “We better get started. Ten and Taeil are going to work on ways to combine the zords and I’ll deal with Doyoung’s power. I imagine you’re going to meet Mark and Johnny with their new proteges for real soon. Then Yuta and Sicheng’s new team...”

“It’s the beginning of the end, isn’t it?” Jeno asks, a pang of something he can’t quite name yet making his insides hurt.

“Maybe,” Taeyong smiles. It looks strangely content, given the circumstances. “But it’s up to us if it’s going to be a happy or a sad one.”

And to that, Jeno has nothing to say.

*

The following days are hectic, to say the least. Jeno does get to meet Johnny and him and Mark turn out quite fun to be around (especially to Donghyuck, for some reason). He also meets Chenle and Jisung, again, although Chenle seems to be avoiding him. Jisung is embarrassed about the whole monster performance for a while but he’s so  _ adorable, _ everyone ends up babying him to the point where he sasses them out in return. 

It’s great, even if the increased amount of people makes Jeno nervous sometimes.

And then even more people show up.

Yuta is fun even if he’s mostly too busy judging everyone when he’s not following Sicheng like a lost puppy. Kun and Sicheng Jeno was sort of prepared for because if Yangyang talks about home it’s usually them he talks about but the other three are… an experience. 

(And also hot. Jeno wonders if whatever higher power picks the power rangers makes it a beauty contest instead. They might all be older than him but it’s not by much, and Jeno isn’t  _ blind.) _

Kunhang (?) and Yukhei (?) introduce themselves with four different names each and Jeno promptly forgets all of them. Sure, it may be embarrassing but at the end of the day, with nineteen people currently milling about the island it’s not that hard to remain out of sight and consequences. 

He doesn’t have the same luck with Dejun, however, who seems to take a liking to Jeno. It’s not enough to trigger Donghyuck’s protective instincts but Dejun does seek Jeno out in group conversations. When the big group breaks into little ones to do their thing, it’s Jeno’s that Dejun seeks out most often. 

“He just likes cute things,” Yangyang laughs when Jeno finally dares to point it out. “It’s nothing malicious, I promise. He’s… not really into the whole romance thing.”

“Oh,” Jeno says. It probably makes sense. Right now, though, his brain has zeroed in on something else. “Did you just call me cute?”

“Did I?” Yangyang asks. The grin he gives Jeno  _ is  _ malicious. 

It feels like a threat to his inner peace, honestly.

*

“Fighting the dark one is like fighting in a vacuum,” Taeyong explains. They’ve all gathered on the island, scattered in front of his cave. It’s a little odd, how quiet it is when there are nineteen of them. Taeyong points at a small sketch Ten is holding next to him. “It cuts off parts of space and creates something like a dimension within the dimension. It’s an entity, rather than something physical you can fight.”

“It’s pitch black inside,” Taeil continues, raising Taeyong’s morpher for everyone to see. It’s still dead but there’s something new to it - it shines a little brighter, it seems. “We developed an upgrade to the suits, night vision in your face shields and built-in communicators because sound doesn’t travel at all once the dark one closes in around you.” 

“I think we’re avoiding the elephant in the room,” Kun says, gesturing to the people around him. “Excluding Yangyang and his friends, all our morphers are dead. Our powers are gone.”

Chenle mutters something that Jeno is too far away to hear. It can’t be nice, though, because it makes Jisung stifle a laugh.

“About that,” Taeil says, voice uneasy. “We found a way to power them up. It won’t be like the real spirits you have but it replicates quite well, and it’s enough to power up exactly twelve morphers. I just have to finish purifying it first.”

“Purifying?” Yuta asks, eyes narrowed. “Where did you get so much power from?”

“Doyoung.” Taeyong says, confident, tone begging for someone to challenge it. “He ripped his own power out of himself and gave it to us. Similar to what we did back then, if you recall.”

No one says anything for a long moment. Donghyuck gives Jeno a curious glance and Yangyang does too, but no one questions him out loud.

Jeno has no doubt that everyone knows just  _ how  _ did that power get into Taeyong’s hands.

“What if we attack the base first?” Dejun suggests, looking around. “Like, the ship? Wouldn’t that give us a bit of an advantage? Maybe we could even prevent this dark one from coming into this world.”

Taeyong glances at his morpher, still in Taeil’s hands. “Hm, maybe-” 

“There is no time,” a new voice says. Jeno’s heart jumps in his throat and sure enough, when he turns around - Doyoung is there, leaning heavily on a scepter that he vaguely recognizes as something belonging to Lord Spegg. 

Everyone is silent, staring at him like he’s a one-man freakshow. 

“The dark one is already summoned. It’s only a matter of time,” Doyoung huffs out, right before he stumbles, falling to his knees.

To no one’s surprise, Jeno is the first one to rush and help him up.

*

“I don’t understand,” Yukhei says, eyes narrowed, “why we should trust him?”

“I gave you my power,” Doyoung points out. He looks like he might fall over at any moment, his back to the wall of the cave and still leaning on the scepter. He’d refused every offer to bring him a chair, hell, an upturned stone even. 

Donghyuck looks like he wants to say something, too, but he glances at Jeno, then at Renjun’s less-than-subtle attempts to make him shut up. In the end, he stays silent and Jeno finds himself glad for it. He doesn’t want to go there again. Not now, not ever.

“I know how this looks like from the outside,” Taeyong sighs, not looking at anyone in particular. “But you’re all part of a team. Imagine your teammate going through something. Would you ditch them just because they made a mistake?”

Doyoung grits his teeth and Jeno doesn’t have to ask to know what he’s thinking of. Jungwoo. Jaehyun. This wasn’t a mistake, as far as Doyoung is concerned. Jeno meets Taeyong’s eyes head-on.  _ Tell him, _ he tries to convey.  _ Tell him, or I will. _

Taeyong is the first one to look away.

“Sorry to break the moment,” Johnny says, looking Doyoung up and down, “But is it too early to ask what the hell happened to you?”

For a brief second, Doyoung smiles. “They found out my power is heavily depleted. The whole ranger migration hasn’t escaped their radar either and Lord Spegg put two and two together. Who knew, there was actually some sort of a brain in that ugly head of his.”

“And the scepter?” Jeno asks. He’s been curious. It crackles every so often, Doyoung’s hand trembling each time. 

“I stole it during the fight,” Doyoung explains. He glances at it, eyes full of hatred. “It’s going to delay the ritual for the dark one but not by much. It’ll be in this world by tonight.”

Only silence follows, the tension so thick Jeno can feel it choking him.

A moment passes, another, before everything erupts into chaos.

*

“Okay, that’s the last one,” Taeyong says, handing Mark’s morpher back to him. “All twelve are charged. “You’ll have enough power for one last fight.”

Jeno hovers around, flinching every time Doyoung moves.

“What about you?” Ten asks, fingers absently tracing the disc of his morpher. It glows a faint pink now.

“The island-” 

“Fuck the island,” Doyoung interrupts, wobbling over on the scepter. “It’s time to stop hiding here and do your goddamn job.”

There’s so much malice in his voice, so much hurt. Jeno feels like an intruder, suddenly. Ten subtly steps away, leaving them alone. Jeno makes to do the same but Doyoung’s free hand shoots out in his direction, grabbing him by the wrist.

“No, Jeno,” he says, eyes still trained to Taeyong. “Stay. Listen. Let him explain himself and what he did.”

All the fight drains out of Taeyong. He looks so, so tired. “He knows what happened. I told him already. It’s you who doesn’t know the story.”

“Yes,” Doyoung hisses, “because none of you would fucking tell me.”

Taeyong doesn’t look like he’s about to argue and Jeno finally decides he’s had enough. “They’re not dead,” he says quietly.

Doyoung whips around to stare at him, a war of feelings in his expression. Eventually, it settles on hope.

“We don’t know that,” Taeyong sighs. Doyoung’s attention is back on him in a heartbeat. “They… Jungwoo got blasted off into space, after you passed out. He tried to attack the dark one by himself. Jaehyun went to search for him.”

“All this time,” Doyoung says slowly, “all this time you’ve known they could be alive. And you left me wondering. Hating you and myself.”

“You would’ve hated yourself anyway,” Taeyong says, desperation sneaking into his words. “Jungwoo and Jaehyun were both gone and you would’ve gone after them. I couldn’t… I couldn’t lose you, too.”

His voice trails off into silence, eyes trained on the ground.

This is a side of Taeyong Jeno hasn’t seen before. He’s not sure if he should be now either, but Doyoung’s fingers are still gripped tight around his wrist.

“It wasn’t your choice to make,” Doyoung says after a while, tone almost soft. Finally, he lets go of Jeno’s wrist to lean on the scepter with both hands. “I still have some of Lord Spegg’s power left in me and the scepter can supply the rest. It’ll be enough to power up both of our morphers but it’ll take a few hours to purify. The others will have to start without us.”

Taeyong opens his mouth, no doubt to argue, but the choice is clear - stay behind, then fight or not fight at all. 

And at the end of the day, they’re the power rangers. A choice like that is not a choice at all.

*

By the time everything is ready for the attack, the dark one is a fact. It looks like it’s decided to take over the forest first, essentially blocking out one of their exits. Taeyong tells them to take the zords, with Yangyang’s velociraptor staying behind to transport Doyoung and Taeyong once they’re done.

It’s a war, rather than a fight. As the zords move towards the forest, the sky gets darker with each kilometer they pass. It’s like walking into the eye of a storm, except the storm is pitch black and thick, swallowing the forest like a huge, particularly evil blanket. 

Jeno gets why it calls itself  _ the dark one. _

The zords manage to tear through the mass of black enough to let them out into the heart of the forest but the black stitches itself so fast that it spits each zord right back out. The ptera zord screams, furiously tearing off pieces of the black matter in an attempt to get in but the black multiplies so fast it’s simply impossible.

Abruptly, the sound stops. It’s eerily quiet for a moment, enough for Jeno to breathe a sigh of relief. the ptera zord is out, safe-

But the moment passes, and something huge and heavy thumps on the ground behind them. When Jeno dares to look, there’s a yellow lined wing, almost the size of his house, huge, jagged pieces sticking out where the wing should he connected to a body. It’s ironic, how the little lights Taeyong had installed still flicker, making the heap of metal impossible to miss with the night vision in their face shields.

Jeno immediately searches for Donghyuck, only to find the other three doing the same. Donghyuck is still as a statue, staring at the wing on the ground. Jeno doesn't need to see his face to know what’s on it.

When Donghyuck turns to the center of the black mass, slowly, it’s Jaemin who places an arm on his shoulder first.

_ You know how this story goes,  _ he says, voice tinny through the communicators. Jeno is dimly aware that all of them can hear the conversation but no one says anything.

He can see it in the tremble of Donghyuck’s limbs, the effort it takes to calm down.

In the silence, a tendril of black sneaks around Dejun’s ankle. He jumps away but the thing only pulls harder, breaking his balance. Without thinking, Jeno shoots at the tendril until it breaks in two, dissolving into the rest of the black mass around them.

A moment later, the tendrils are  _ everywhere. _

Most of the older rangers have broken off into pairs, backs against each other but it doesn’t seem to help much. The tendrils are fast, way faster than they can ever be even without their movements limited by a second body glued to yours. Jeno, Renjun and Jaemin form a circle instead, soon joined by Yangyang and Donghyuck. Johnny and Mark seem to like the idea because they circle Chenle and Jisung, allowing them to shoot at the tendrils with less fear for their wellbeing.

It’s not hard fighting off the tendrils, not really, but they keep them away from the middle of this whole place. Of fighting the dark one.

It seems the tendrils get bigger, stronger. They close in on them pushing them further away from the center. Yukhei screams to Jeno’s left and he looks up just in time to see Kun slash a giant tendril wrapped around Yukhei’s waist, holding him in the air. Yukhei thumps to the ground, another tendril attacking immediately and It’s Taeil that shoots it this time, right before Yukhei picks up his blade and attacks again.

Briefly, Jeno wonders if the thing Taeyong’s team fought was this strong. And how strong  _ they  _ must have been to be able to overpower it long enough to seal it away.

*

It’s worse than Jeno expected. He tried to expect the worst for this exact reason but here they are, a grand total of seventeen rangers, old and new. All of them getting their asses kicked. The tendrils are still not impossible to beat but they are relentless and Jeno is starting to get the feeling that beating them isn’t the purpose here.

They’re tired. There is no way out. The tendrils keep coming back.

The first one to stumble, oddly enough, is Ten. One of the tendrils quickly finds its way around his leg, pulling him towards the black mass. Like one, Jaemin and Renjun aim their blasters at the thing but it squirms, pulling Ten so they can’t shoot it unless they shoot him. 

_ Do it, _ Ten hisses through the communicator. The sound gets worse the closer he is to the black mass.  _ I’d rather die from a blaster than being eaten alive by a goddamn tentacle monster. _

_ No one is dying,  _ a new voice says and everything pauses for one long moment. The black matter tears, the t-rex and Jeno’s stegosaurus holding it open for just enough so two figures can slip in. A ray of sunshine breaks in along with them, and the tendrils hiss and retreat back to the darkness. Ten uses this to shoot at the tendril around his leg himself, hastily retreating back to where the others are.

The slit in the black matter closes as fast as it opened but Taeyong and Doyoung are already running towards them, both in ranger suits, blasting off every tendril that happens to cross their path. 

_ We figured out a way to beat the dark one, _ Taeyong says, breathless.  _ Once and for all. _

Doyoung stays quiet next to him, keeping himself occupied by blasting off any tendril that’s recovered recovered enough to attack.

_ What are you waiting for, then? _ Ten grits, finally wobbling back to them.

It’s Doyoung that answers this time.  _ You have to destroy your morphers. _

He never even looks away from the tendrils.

Weirdly enough, it’s Jisung who questions it first.  _ Why should we trust you? _

_ It’s me you should trust,  _ Taeyong corrects. He reaches up to shoot and when Jeno turns around to look in that direction, a tendril falls limp, centimeters away from Kunhang’s throat.  _ What the morphers do, he explains, is even out your power. So instead of the raw power of the spirit you have, you can control it better, channel it. Without them, you’ll just have a lot of bottled up tension which is bound to explode. _

_ And if it explodes in the right direction…  _ Kun trails off, glancing back to the center of the thing, mindlessly slashing at the tendril reaching for him.

_ There are nineteen of us,  _ Doyoung says, finally stopping long enough to look at their small army.  _ If anything is going to kill the dark one, it’s us. _

_ We’ve done it before, _ Jaemin says suddenly, everyone’s eyes suddenly on him.  _ When we fought Serpentina. Me and Renjun, and Donghyuck after that.  _

Taeyong nods. _ It’s going to be harder now, though, because you’ll demorph. This black mass will be toxic to us without the suits and we’ll have a very small time frame to attack. _

Sicheng sighs, absently slashing a sneaky tendril to the side.  _ We don’t have much of a choice, do we? That thing has to die, permanently this time. This is probably our only chance. _

_ Well then, _ Renjun says, hand on his morpher.  _ Shall we? _

Jeno allows himself a moment to come to terms with it. He hasn't always had a great relationship with the stegosaurus but it was always  _ there. _ The gentle humming in his mind sounds a lot like comfort.

He rips the morpher off his wrist.

Ironically, it’s Doyoung’s voice that does the countdown.

_ Three. _

_ Two. _

_ One. _

The morpher crumbles in his palm. Jeno’s body feels the overwhelming crush of the blackness first, then the stegosaurus wraps around him like a hug from an old friend.

In the seconds before Jeno’s body starts to feel the effects of the dark one, the power erupts out of him. He knows where the target is. The stegosaurus knows too, and it’s prepared.

Doyoung can’t give them the  _ Now, _ without the communicators but Jeno can feel it in the way the limited air crackles. It’s time.

Where there was only black a moment ago, color bursts out so bright Jeno has to squint against it. There’s so much color - silver, gold, yellow, green, red, pink - so much red. Blue. It’s all there. Bright and flying right towards the shrinking tendrils of the dark one.

_ It’s a pretty thing, saving the world, _ Jeno thinks, right before he passes out.

*

The sun is so bright on his face that Jeno squints. It takes a moment to click that his eyes are still closed.

The grass he’s laying in is singed, and where it’s not burned off it’s a sad, pale yellow. Like the life has been sucked out of it. There are people scattered in the clearing around him, too. Some are still unconscious and some, like Jeno, are looking around, trying to take in their surroundings. A few meters away he can see Kun crawling over to what looks to be Dejun, frantically feeling for a pulse.

One by one, they all stir awake. Jeno wobbles over around the clearing in search of Donghyuck, or Jaemin, or someone-

It’s bigger than he remembers. Some of the trees look to be burned to the ground.

The first person he finds is Renjun. It’s mainly because he’s one of those trying to sit up and without thinking, Jeno drops on the ground next to him. He buries his face in Renjun’s neck in an attempt to drown out the smell of soot and burned grass. He only realizes he’s shaking when Renjun places a gentle hand on his back, bringing him closer.

Another hand joins Renjun’s and Jeno looks up just enough to see Yangyang curling up on his other side. Soon Donghyuck joins them too, then Jaemin. Renjun remains in the middle, everyone surrounding him like the petals of a particularly floppy flower.

It’s over. The dark one is defeated, for real this time. 

The gentle humming in Jeno’s mind isn’t there anymore, though. There is no power crackling through his veins.

Something wet soaks through Jeno’s shirt but with everyone so close, he can’t be sure who’s crying. Renjun only brings them closer.

*

Everyone scatters soon after. Yangyang’s friends linger for another day before they get a flight back home and Johnny and Mark return to wherever Taeil’s second café location is, Chenle and Jisung in tow. 

Jeno briefly wonders if this is what happens to all ex rangers - they open a café. 

The zords are nowhere to be found after the fight. Taeyong explains that they must have gotten back to the island, in their mountains, the ptera zord included. It looks like the dark one didn’t manage to kill it after all (Jaemin is intent on calling it the Jizuzord. _ Because it’s a miracle,  _ he says. Each time, Yangyang points out it was way less than three days it spent dead but facts have never deterred Jaemin before.)

Ten and Taeyong, funnily enough, manage to get teaching jobs in town and Jeno has never been happier to know he’s graduating. He doesn’t think he could take anything Ten tried to teach him seriously.

Doyoung bids him goodbye, too.

“There have to be other power rangers out there,” he tells Jeno the evening before he disappears. “I’m going to find them, and I’m going to find a way to go after Jungwoo and Jaehyun.”

Jeno swallows every feeling that bubbles to the surface. He’s going to be alone, again.

And like all the times before, Doyoung seems to read his mind. 

“You have your own family now,” he smiles, ruffling Jeno’s hair like Jeno isn’t essentialy a grown ass adult. “You don’t need me.”

“You’re my family, too,” Jeno mumbles. He allows himself to be pulled into a hug and adulthood be damned, allows himself to cry, too.

“I know,” Doyoung says, arms wrapped around Jeno’s shoulders. He’s much broader now than when he was a kid, it feels  _ different. _ But it feels like home, too. It always has.

Taeyong looks far from surprised when Jeno tells him but he smiles anyway. Doyoung is not someone either of them could ever control.

*

“So what now,” Yangyang asks, sipping on a cup of hot chocolate that he’s sharing with Donghyuck curled up against his side. “Do we open a café?”

Renjun rolls his eyes. “We go to university, dumbass. Maybe afterwards, if you still want to, we can open a café.”

“I’m gonna miss you all,” Jaemin says, voice almost wobbly. 

Donghyuck snorts. “You’re saying that like we’re not all literally moving to Seoul.“

“Yeah, but-”

“You know,” Jeno interrupts, eyeing the way Donghyuck’s hand is curled around Yangyang’s waist. “We should all just date each other. And find a place in Seoul together.”

There’s a moment where everyone just stares at him. 

And then Yangyang grins. "I actually don't hate this idea. At all?"

“Honestly, same,” Donghyuck laughs. He nudges Renjun, prompting a reluctant nod from him, too.

"Wait,” Jaemin breathes, sitting up like a plastic toy that just got new its new batteries. “Does this mean I can make out with Renjun now?"

Renjun squeaks, high and embarrassed, and his empty sugar packet flies straight at Jaemin’s face.

They were the power rangers, Jeno thinks. They saved the world and it was pretty nice. But the power is gone now and they’re just... them. Family. 

And that feels even nicer.

**Author's Note:**

> you got this far! congratulations!! all the treats for you!!! 🍭🍪  
> ok now to the long and emo note. this is one long ass fic and life tried very hard to prevent it from happening but here we are. done. posted. sprints are magic yall. i would've never made it this far without **b** and **i**. i've forgotten how to exist without you two and i hope i never get to remember ❤ and also, **e** and **k** and the best artist i could've ever gotten paired with!! ily all so much. and last but definitely not least: admin tea, you are a legend. 


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